


of myths and men

by orphan_account



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst, Falling In Love, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, Nothing is explicit, Science, Sex scenes are written in an artistic style, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-23 21:10:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20224801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Tony likes to make it known that he didn’t fall in love when he first saw Stephen. No, because it’s psychologically impossible. Falling in love with Stephen was a bit of a gradual process: slower than some, quicker than most. But it was never right away. It’s a story he likes to share, because falling in love is a beautiful experience - especially with the right person.He also likes to make it known that when you fall in love, and when you realize that you have fallen, it hits you like a ton of bricks.





	of myths and men

**Author's Note:**

> this was. a MONSTER. 20k words, and about a month's worth of my time.
> 
> It says in the tags, but to be clear: there are NO EXPLICIT SEX SCENES. They're written in what I like to describe as an "artistic" style, where I just avoid using the kind of words that make those sort of things explicit.
> 
> Also, i'm not a neurosurgeon nor a brain expert. so the invention that you'll see in this fic...just pretend it makes sense.

_ Love at first sight is a myth. _

_ Tony never understands how such a concept could ever be so famous. In books, movies - everywhere you look. There’s always one story that has it. A young princess is overwhelmed by the heroic act of a prince and instantly jumps into his arms - never even knowing his name. Or the man who quickly asks his young boyfriend to marry him after only a week of going out - running away together to quickly consummate their marriage, with the young boyfriend dropping anything and everything. _

_ It is a revolting concept. Tony grimaces every time he comes across it. Falling in love takes time. It takes loving someone for who they are and not what they look like. It’s laughing with them during awkward times. It’s being together during bad times, trying desperately to overcome every single obstacle that barges its way into the relationship. _

_ Love isn’t looking at someone for twenty seconds and deciding that they’re the one. Love isn’t having sex one time, deciding that was the most amazing sex out there, and eloping the next weekend. _

_ Love is growing old together, sharing experiences and having the want to keep doing so until the grave, or, if you believe in it, after the grave. _

_ Love is going through bouts of hardships, difficulties, and working through them. _

_ You can see someone midway through a party and say, “he’s hot, cute, etc.” And you can go home with him that night, have mind-blowing sex, and he lets you stay in the morning, maybe even makes you breakfast. And he can call you later and ask to see you again and you think your heart might leap out of your chest. But it’s not love. _

_ It can be love eventually, though. As time goes on, perhaps the buddening relationship will bloom. _

_ Tony likes to make it known that he didn’t fall in love when he first saw Stephen. No, because it’s psychologically impossible. Falling in love with Stephen was a bit of a gradual process: slower than some, quicker than most. But it was never right away. It’s a story he likes to share, because falling in love is a beautiful experience - especially with the right person. _

_ He also likes to make it known that when you fall in love, and when you realize that you have fallen, it hits you like a ton of bricks. _

* * *

“How much longer do I have to be here, Rhodey?” Tony asks, his figure slumped against a wall, champagne glass in hand. “I mean, how _ important _ is this event that I have to stay the entire time?”

Rhodey takes a sip of his drink, rolling his eyes. “Christ, Tony. You’re the big picture. The main event. You should be here.”

“Right,” Tony points a finger gun towards his friend. “Decidedly so, here I am. However, what if I wasn’t? Would it be _ so _ bad? I already gave my big speech. I’m set. Let’s leave.” He stands up straight and begins to move when Rhodey grabs his arm and pulls his back.

“Woah there, Tiger,” Rhodey says, “stay a little bit longer. Then you can leave. Pepper thinks you should stay a little bit longer than the last event.”

“Hey,” Tony narrows his eyes. “I walked out _ right _ after that speech. It’s been thirty minutes since tonight’s speech. Technically, I _ have _ stayed a little bit longer.”

Rhodey crosses his arms, giving him a glare that only Tony can recognize as a _ ‘why are you such a brat _’ glare. Tony holds his hands up in defeat as he rolls his eyes.

“Fine, fine, I’ll stay a little longer.” Tony scoffs, walking away from Rhodey. “But if I get too drunk, it’s all on you, Platypus!”

“I’ll take that blame,” he responds, waving him off.

Tony scoffs as he pushes his way through a crowd of people, tossing winks and throwing grins at any guest who happens to catch eye contact with him. It’s a rather large ballroom - surprisingly not at Stark Towers, but rather at some fancy Mariott that insisted on hosting the event. Being honest, Tony can’t bother to remember what the event is even for - his speech was written for him, and perhaps he glossed over the information that he was sent prior concerning the gala. 

This, of course, combined with the very dull attitude of wealthy adults drinking champagne, makes the whole evening relatively boring. 

A small hand taps his shoulder and he spins around. “I hear from Rhodey that you’ve been wanting to leave early?”

Tony crosses his arms and smirks at the red-headed woman in front of him. Pepper is wearing a beautiful, light-red dress with silver streaks down her sides. “Pepper, you look dashing as always.”

She rolls her eyes. “Please, save it.” She places her hands on her hips. “Tony, you need to stay here for longer. I can’t have you leaving again. It’s just…” Pepper makes a motion with her hands, matching the grimace on her face. “Rude. Very rude.”

“Pepper, Pepper…” Tony grins, “I know how frustrating I can be. However, once you learn that I can just about do whatever it is I want, perhaps it’ll be easier for you to deal with me.”

Pepper’s jaw drops slightly. “Christ, Tony. You hired me to keep you in check and make sure the company bodes well. I’m just doing my job.”

“Hey, relax.” Tony holds a hand up as he takes a sip of his drink. “I’m only joking. Trying to provide myself at least _ some _ entertainment in this goddamn torture party.”

Pepper narrows her eyes. “Just...stay a tad longer. Maybe twenty minutes. Can you do that? Please? Maybe make my life a little bit easier?”

“Fine, fine, I will-” Tony stops as his gaze focuses on a man standing near the bar. He is tall, with hair gelled back rather handsomely. With a dark suit that is very well fitted, combined with golden cufflinks. A hint of a watch peeks out beneath one of his sleeves. He’s leaning against the bar with a smile on his face, talking to another woman in a green dress who seems to be very much invested in his conversation. “Who the hell is that?”

“Who?” Pepper arches her eyebrow and follows Tony’s gaze. “Oh, that’s Doctor Stephen Strange. He’s famous for his neurological work regarding surgery. He’s world-renowned, too. I don’t quite know his details, but he’s rather a very important person.” She stares at him. “I’m pretty sure I told you about him.”

“Yeah, Pep,” Tony hands her his glass as he starts to walk away. “But you didn’t tell me how _ fucking hot _ he is. Sour move. See you later.”

She scowls, yelling after him. “Are you fuck- Tony!”

“Can’t hear you, Pep,” Tony smiles and waves a hand behind him. He strolls up to the bar, a smirk on his face and a flirtatious glimmer in his eyes. “Doctor Stephen Strange?”

Both the man and woman turn to face him, and the woman’s mouth falls slightly agape as she tightens her stance. The doctor simply tilts his head and smiles, his figure still leaning against the bar. “Tony Stark.” He holds out his hand for Tony to shake, and when he does, Stephen continues. “I must say, I’m a little surprised to hear my name out of your mouth.”

“Oh,” Tony flashes a grin. “Well, I’ve heard about you. Never quite knew what you looked like, until Pepper pointed you out to me.” Tony turns his head to the woman and gestures to her. “And you are? You look absolutely wonderful tonight, I must say.”

The woman blushes. “My name is Doctor Christine Palmer. I’m one of Stephen’s co-workers. I have to say, it’s a huge honor to meet you.”

“Well, Doctor Palmer, it’s lovely meeting you as well.” Tony moves his finger back and forth between them - a simple gesture to question the relationship. “Are you two...did you come as dates?”

Christine glances at Stephen once before quickly shaking her head. “Oh no, we didn’t. Just, um…”

“Just friends,” Stephen finishes. 

“Right,” she smiles, “friends.”

Tony shoots them both an odd look. “I hope I didn’t interrupt something.”

Christine shakes her head again. “No,” she reiterates, “I’m actually just going to go talk to some friends over there. You boys have fun.” She smiles, tossing a wink in Stephen’s direction as she struts over to the other side of the ballroom, disappearing into the pool of dresses and suits. Tony waits until she is completely hidden from view before turning around to take another gander at Stephen, his eyes instinctively trailing up and down his body until it reaches the intense blue eyes.

Stephen smirks. “You’ve really mastered the art of subtlety, haven’t you?”

“Well, I’m a simple man.” Tony flashes a grin. “I’m pretty much blunt and to the point. I make my intentions known. And dare I say?” He takes a step closer, blinking up at the man with fluttering eyelashes. “You look absolutely breathtaking.”

Stephen shifts to a position where both of his hands are gripping the bar and he’s leaning against it, now completely facing Tony - all attention on him. He tilts his head in that suave way of his and stares him down, smirk still plastered on his face. “Let me ask you, Tony Stark. Has anyone ever asked _ you _ back to their place?”

Tony blinks — and then frowns. He sits on that thought - he’s usually the one bringing back women and men to his home. It’s what he does - what he likes doing. He shakes his head. “Nope, I’m the player here.”

“Well then,” Stephen pushes himself off the bar and inches closer to Tony. His hands snake up to Tony’s tie and he starts adjusting it, or fixing it, rather (Tony can’t tell, but he knows that his own heart is racing). “Would you like to leave this party with me? We can go back to my place.”

Tony stares down at the hands fixing his tie - nobody has ever been this bold with him before. His eyes shoot back up to meet those daring blues and he smirks, tilting his head just slightly. “Now you’re speaking my language.” His voice is just high enough for Stephen and only Stephen to hear amongst the noisy crowd of fancy guests.

Stephen stops adjusting Tony’s tie and allows one hand to fall to his side, the other to trace gently upwards until it is underneath Tony’s chin, tilting it up. “Then what are we waiting for? Follow me.” He removes his finger and starts to stride towards the crowd, and Tony follows him, entranced by his enticing figure. 

As he waves his way through the crowd, his eye catches with Pepper’s, and she stares at him, her arms crossed in a disapproving way. Tony smirks, gestures his head in Stephen’s direction and mouths _ ‘I’m sorry.’ _ Pepper cocks an eyebrow and glances at Stephen, her jaw dropping as a sudden realization hits her, but as she goes to say something, she discovers that Tony is already gone and out the door. 

Tony catches up with Stephen rather quickly as they walk side by side on a cool, brisk night. The muffled noises of the party falters as they further their distance away from it. Stephen walks quickly, with his back straight like he has a purpose that he has to fulfill. Tony notices it, and immediately decides that he likes it.

“Why do you always walk like that?” Tony asks. Stephen shoots him an incredulous look. 

“Walk like what? Is this not a normal way to be walking?”

“I mean,” Tony clarifies, “you always walk with a bit of a stride. Like you own the place.”

“Ah,” Stephen smiles and pulls out his keys, clicking the unlock button. A dark lamborghini’s headlights flash in response. “Who’s to say that I don’t _ already _own the place?” He opens the passenger door. “For you.”

“Ah, a gentleman,” Tony grins, “such a sweetheart.” He gets in the car and sits down, admiring the interior of the car. Tony can already tell that this man is the real deal - a man on his level. 

Stephen gets in his car and starts it, subtly glancing over at Tony. “You like her, huh?”

“Yeah,” Tony grazes a hand over the seats. “She’s wonderful.”

“My pride and joy.”

“How nice.” Tony bites at his lip as Stephen pulls onto the road. “I guess I should expect the same high quality in this place of yours?”

Stephen lets out a laugh, casting a side glance in Tony’s direction, “It’s nothing you probably haven’t seen before. Maybe not as grandiose as your home, but it’s something I worked my ass off for.” He smirks as he lets one hand grip the wheel and relaxes the other one on his lap. “And the bed is rather comfortable.”

“Oh, baby,” Tony grins, “that _ is _ the most important part.”

His phone buzzes in his pocket - he elects to ignore it. Most likely, it’s Pepper or Rhodey, scolding him for doing the exact opposite of that they told him to do. He’ll pay the price later.

“So,” Tony clicks his tongue. “Neurosurgery, huh? What’s that like? Seeing brains all the time.”

Stephen snorts, amused. “You really aren’t one for small talk, are you?”

“Just answer the question.”

“Well, I studied it for years. Seeing brains doesn’t gross me out like it would for any other person.”

“Still, you open up a head and you just see their brain. All jiggly, and shit. Also brain juices, that’s disgusting.” Tony grimaces, over exaggerating a gagging noise. “Blegh. Does it get all over you? The brain juices?”

“You’re something,” Stephen shakes his head. “But I’m going to ignore your question.”

“Aw, come on, you’re no fun!”

The doctor smiles. “You won’t be saying that soon.”

“Oooh,” Tony smirks, “I like where this is heading. Please, do continue, Doctor.”

“I don’t want to spoil the fun,” Stephen replies. He makes a left turn into a garage. “I guess you’ll just have to find out.”

Tony’s phone buzzes again, and he scoffs. “That’s either Pepper or Rhodey, wondering where I am, why I left, and what I’m doing. Or, well, I think they know what I’m doing.” He shakes his head and turns his phone off. “Guess I’m not being a very good friend at the moment, but hell, I can’t turn down this opportunity.”

Stephen pulls into a parking space and parks, smirking as he does so. “You’re that desperate?”

Tony shoots him a glare. “Not desperate. You’re just very hot.”

“Mmm, you sure know how to milk ‘em.”

“Believe me,” Tony purrs. He gets out of the car and leans his elbows against the roof. “You have _ no _ idea.”

“Come on,” Stephen beckons, walking towards an elevator. “Let’s get a move on.”

“Now who’s looking desperate, huh?”

Stephen presses the button as he side-eyes Tony. “I have a feeling you talk a lot during sex. Am I wrong?”

Tony ponders on that for a moment. “Wrong? Well, I guess it depends. If it’s good sex, chances are I’ll be screaming someone’s name rather than talking about my taxes.”

“Oh?” The elevator dings and Stephen tosses him a flirty smile. “Well I sure hope I don’t hear about your taxes.”

Tony walks in and leans against the wall, crossing his arms as the elevator door closes and begins to bring them up. “Tell me, Doc. Have you ever had to perform a prostate exam?”

“A couple of times.” Stephen answers, but he’s mildly confused by the question. 

“Then I’m sure we’ll be _ just _fine.” Tony grins smugly, and Stephen lets out a laugh while shaking his head.

“I don’t mean to disappoint you, Tony, but prostate exams are _ not _ sexy in the slightest.”

“Hmph,” Tony replies, shrugging. “I’m just putting it out there that you know what you’re doing.”

Stephen only smiles in response. The elevator dings open and the two walk down the hallway in silence. Tony’s heart rate suddenly climbs, and he finds himself becoming nervous. What can he be nervous about? He’s had flings out the wazoo, and never once felt nervous about the impending sex. 

Tony bites his lip. Maybe it’s because this is new territory. It’s unfamiliar, uncomfortable, something that he’s not used to. He’s always brought his dates back to his bedroom, with his king-sized bed and those linen sheets that he’s so infatuated with. He’s the rich and famous one - it’s his room that they use. 

But Stephen, well, Stephen seems to be his equal, and as Tony watches him walk, he notices a form of confidence in his steps, the same kind he noticed while they were walking down the streets. Perhaps it’s because he has scored _ the _ Tony Stark as a date, and made him come to _ his _ place. His suave goes hand in hand with his arrogance, qualities that Tony only has seen in a mirror. 

Tony doesn’t recall ever feeling this way over a supposed one night stand, that _ hasn’t even happened yet. _

Stephen digs into his pocket to pull out his keys, and he tosses a smile and wink at Tony as he unlocks is door. As if on cue, Tony’s hand clutches his chest, subconsciously wrinkling his tie and some of his shirt. He quickly tries to pass it off as loosening his tie, and he can see Stephen watching him out of the corner of his eye as he unlocks his door, amused. When the door finally opens, Stephen stands to the side and beckons Tony to walk in.

He stands in awe as his eyes travel around the place. Windows line the far wall, showing off a perfect view of the city. A bar stands in the corner, with stools sitting in a perfect line. There’s a flat screen TV on the right, with white sofas surrounding it. 

“Damn,” Tony mutters, “nice place.”

“Probably not as impressive as yours,” Stephen replies, “but still is my home, nevertheless. Years of hard work pays off.”

“Did you come from a wealthy family?”

Stephen shakes his head. “No, this money is my own.”

“Well,” Tony grins and scratches his head. “That makes it all the more impressive.”

Stephen smiles, the skin beneath his eyes crinkling up as he does so. He walks behind Tony and he begins to help him out of his suit jacket. “You also inherited your father’s business at only twenty-one years old, and had to start running it straight away while also mourning your own parents.” Tony lifts his arms out of the jacket and turns around, watching Stephen carefully fold it and lay it on the table. He watches as Stephen’s hands move towards Tony’s tie and starts untying it. “I read about that in the paper, you know.”

Tony can only stare at the hands undoing his tie. “I’m sure you did. It was a pretty famous news story, you know.”

Stephen tugs at a knot and pulls Tony a bit closer. Tony wonders if Stephen can hear his heart rattling in his ribcage. “Perhaps I should cease the family talk and we can get down to business, huh?”

A guttural sound escapes Tony’s throat without him meaning to. “I guess,” he begins, his eyes finally staring back into Stephen’s. “I guess we should.”

Stephen remains silent - only smirks. The tie is slowly pulled over Tony’s head, and he waits, his heart hammering in anticipation.

Then Stephen’s mouth is on his, and suddenly Tony forgets how to breathe. His hands fly up to grip the salt-n-pepper hair of his as Stephen backs him up slowly. Tony’s lower back hits the counter with a dull thud, and there's a bit of pain, but all rational thoughts are flying out the window at the moment. There’s something about the way Stephen kisses - his movements are confident yet hesitant, as if telling Tony that he can leave at any point and there would be no hard feelings. But Tony responds in his own actions that there’s no way in hell he’s leaving - by trailing his lips to the underside of Stephen’s ear and kissing the soft skin underneath it.

He’s not sure when they made it into the bedroom - it’s been a blur of undressing and shifting around, and now he’s soft and pliant in a large bed with a mouth on his neck, marking up his skin. Tony hands grip the sheets tighter and lets out a gasp as Stephen’s hands travel. There’s a moment where blue eyes meet brown in a hesitant glance, and Tony nods and falls deeper into the bed as they intertwine. Tony’s head falls to the side as he breathes, hearing reassuring gasps from Stephen in his ear, and his hands find Stephen’s back and digs into it.

And it’s not until after Stephen’s turned on his side and Tony lays baren in the silky sheets that he realizes that Stephen truly is, in fact, different than most.

* * *

When Tony awakes, it’s to an empty bed. He sits up and turns over, gently running his hands along the silk bedspread. The other side is cold, and he wonders if Stephen really is his mirror - inviting guests over and then going about his day, letting another person handle the date.

Something clammers in the kitchen, and Tony quickly hops out of the bed and grabs his clothes, throwing only the pants on. He opens the door, and the smell of bacon overwhelms him as his eyebrows raised high. Stephen turns his head to the sound of the door opening, and he grins before turning back to the pan. “Good morning, sleep well?”

Tony is stunned for a brief moment. “Yeah...I did.” He cautiously makes his way over to where Stephen is cooking and peers over the countertop. “You’re...making breakfast?”

“I guess I don’t play by your typical ‘one night stand’ rules,” Stephen replies, and he hands Tony a plate of pancakes. “Also, I typically make myself breakfast anyway, might as well make some for you.”

Tony’s not going to turn down that offer, and he grabs a fork and begins to eat. “Damn, these are good.”

“I pride myself in my ability.” Stephen turns off the stove and puts the bacon on a plate, sliding it over the countertop towards Tony. “I pride myself in a lot of my abilities, actually.”

Tony smirks and rests his chin on his hand. “As you should.”

“Speaking of which, you should probably turn your phone back on.” Stephen grabs another plate from the cabinet and takes some pancakes. “You remember the woman I was with last night? Christine? Yeah, she called me this morning. Told me that your friends are looking for you and to please call them back.”

Rolling his eyes, Tony groans. “Can’t they leave me alone for _ one freakin’ night?” _ He grabs his phone and turns it on, and sure enough, a wave of missed calls and texts appear. Pepper makes up about 93% of them, with Rhodey being the rest. With a sigh, he texts Pepper to send a car, finishes the rest of his breakfast and goes into the bedroom to get the rest of his clothes. “Well, it was a lovely night, Doc. Thank you.”

“Of course,” Stephen says, and he holds his hand out. “Was a pleasure meeting you, Tony Stark.”

Tony smirks and pulls his hand out of his pocket to shake Stephen’s hand. When his hand pulls away, Stephen finds a card in its place. Tony chuckles at Stephen’s raised eyebrows and he explains. “If you want to call me. Because, you know, our brains could have some potential in a collaboration.”

Stephen’s smirk is accompanied by a raised chin and flirty eyes. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He stuffs the card into his pocket and winks before turning back around. Tony takes that as his cue to leave, and he double checks that he has everything before walking out the door. 

As soon as he's in the elevator, he collapses against the wall, letting out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding. “Holy shit,” Tony mutters. He slides his hand down his face. “Holy shit. Holy fucking shit.”

It’s like his vocabulary has gone awry. That’s definitely something new.

The car is waiting when Tony leaves the building, and as Tony opens the door, he sees an extremely furious Pepper, with her arms and legs crossed. She has a scowl on her face and her chin is tilted upwards, and Tony holds his hands up in surrender as he gets in. 

“Alright, alright, I know, I know, no need to lecture me.”

Pepper scoffs. “I asked you to do _ one _ thing. Just one. And what did you do? The exact opposite. _ And _turned your phone off.” She shakes her head, visibly annoyed. “You just couldn’t keep it in your pants, huh? You saw a new person, and decided that you had to have sex with them.”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Tony replies, unwilling to get into the conversation. “But if you must know, I had a very good time.”

“I don’t care,” Pepper waves her hand in dismissal. “It was so embarrassing. The media was all over me. ‘Where is Tony Stark?’ and, ‘oh, did he leave with world-renowned surgeon Doctor Stephen Strange?’ Honestly, Tony, I’m not your babysitter. Sometimes I feel that I am!”

Tony sighs and rests his head against the back of the seat. “Alright, Pep, you’re right. I’m sorry. It was irresponsible of me to leave after telling you guys I wouldn’t. I’ll make it up to you, okay? I promise.”

Pepper narrows her eyes at him. “Why did you go to his place instead of yours?”

Tony shrugs. “Change of pace.”

She tosses him a weird glance. “Weird.”

“What’s weird about that?”

“You tend to like all your little dates in the comfort of your own room.”

“Like I said, change of pace.”

“Well,” Pepper rummages through her purse. “I hope that you didn’t cause any rifts. Strange has been rather fortunate with us and our fundraisers.” She pulls out her phone and begins to text. 

“No rifts. He made me breakfast and I gave him my card. We’re all good here,” Tony gives her a grin, and she rolls her eyes in response. “Speaking of which, have you had any breakfast? You totally haven’t. It’s like 9 in the morning. Happy, please pull over to the nearest Starbucks.”

“On it, sir.” Happy replies, and flashes him a smile. Pepper shakes her head, though she seems amused.

“Tony, seriously, I can have breakfast at the—”

“Shh,” Tony holds a finger to her mouth. “I told you I was going to make it up to you, so we are going to go to Starbucks, and you’ll get whatever you’d like there.” He smirks at her. “You can get the largest coffee with as many expresso shots as you’d like.”

Pepper chuckles. “Lord knows that I need ‘em when I’m working for you.”

“That’s the spirit, Pep!” Tony exclaims. He always prides himself in his ability to make his secretary laugh, even when she’s deeply annoyed with him. “There’s one, Hap.”

Happy pulls the car over and Tony and Pepper get out and walk in. Surprisingly enough, it’s not that crowded (but crowded enough that Tony can see two cell phones taking a photo of him). As they wait in line, Pepper starts rambling about what she’s going to do during her birthday, which reminds Tony that he needs to get her a gift.

“I’m probably going to take the day off, if that’s okay with you.” She smiles sweetly as Tony nods. “I haven’t seen my parents in so long, and they’ve been _ dying _ to know what kind of work I do for you.”

“Pep, I don’t even remember the last time you took a day off. Please, you deserve it,” Tony replies, “especially with all the crap you do for me, I don’t even know how you’ve handled everything so perfectly.”

“What can I say,” Pepper flicks her hair behind her shoulder. “I’m an expert secretary.” She turns to the barista and orders her coffee and her croissant. “Are you going to get anything, Tony?”

Tony shakes his head. “No, like I said, I already had breakfast this morning.”

“Right,” Pepper nods, and she pays. “Speaking of which, since my anger seems to have diminished, how was everything? I guess I shouldn’t be asking you this, since it’s none of my business but you slept with-” She pauses, suddenly aware of her surroundings. Then she lowers her voice to just above a whisper that only Tony could hear. “You slept with _ Doctor Stephen Strange.” _

Tony shrugs. “So? He’s not the first doctor I’ve done shit with.”

“Thing is,” Pepper takes her coffee and croissant from the barista and smiles before turning back to Tony. “Doctor Strange is famous for...well, how can I put this...not being easy. I hate saying that, but I can’t think of any other way to describe it.”

“Not being easy?” Tony gawks at her. “What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean, Tony.” Pepper replies. She sits down in a booth and picks at her croissant. “Dude’s been a bachelor for years, but hasn’t been seen with anyone. Apparently many people have tried.” She takes a sip of her coffee. “And you, well, everyone saw him leaving with you. That’s why the media has been in a frenzy.”

“Ah,” Tony lets out a laugh. “Because I slept with a guy who isn’t notorious for sleeping around.” He shakes his head. “Everyone’s trying to find a story out of something.”

Pepper nods in agreement. “So really, what was he like? I have to admit, I’m curious.”

“This is weird of you. I kinda don’t like it.”

“Tony, this is not the weirdest thing I’ve asked you, not even close.” Pepper shoots him an amused look. “Now tell me about last night. How did it go down? What made you deliberately ignore Rhodey and I?”

Tony rests his chin on the palm of his hand. “Well, I saw him, thought he was real hot and all, you know that part. So I went up to him and started doing what I always do. He knew exactly what my plan was and he went along with it, even doing a few bold moves. In fact,” Tony chuckles, “he turned the whole thing around so he was the one asking _ me _ over.”

“I can’t believe you agreed to that.”

“Pepper, that party was boring, I would have agreed to anything at that point.”

Rolling her eyes, she beckons for him to continue. “Moving on. What happened after that?”

“We got to his place, and we were talking and flirting this whole time, mind you. I don’t think there ever was a serious point in the conversation, well, I guess besides bringing up my inheritance.” Tony waves his hand in dismissal. “Never mind that. Then we got to the point and had sex.” 

Pepper stares at him intensely. Tony raises his eyebrows at her.

“You’re not going to make me go into drastic detail, are you? I don’t think you want to hear about that.”

Pepper’s eyes widen and she shakes her head furiously. “Oh, _ no! _ I didn’t mean to tell me about all that. I just wanted the stuff leading up to it. The good part. That’s _ always _ juicy,” she pauses before leaning back against the booth and crossing her arms. “Though it does spark my curiosity how you managed to grab his attention so much that he invited _ you. _”

“Easy,” Tony grins, “because everyone likes me.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Pepper scoffs, “_ and _ he made you breakfast this morning? Does he not understand how your one night stands usually work? Or most, for that matter?”

Tony shrugs, tapping his fingers on the table. “Considering this situation was vastly different than the usual routine, it only makes sense for that to happen too. It was nice of him, really. I like him as a person. He’s witty, he’s fun, and he’s pretty much my equal.” He leans back into the booth and points a finger gun at Pepper. “Which, of course, I can’t allow for obvious reasons. Gotta be the best, you know.”

“Interesting.” Pepper says beneath her coffee cup. “You think you’d be interested in more than just a one time thing?”

The billionaire’s eyes widen. “Why is that a question?”

Pepper shrugs. “I don’t know. He seems different.”

“I don’t typically do relationships.”

“Trust me,” Pepper replies, “I know that. I’m simply asking if there’s a possibility. Like if he came to you and said he wanted to do it again sometime, would you say yes?”

“I mean, what would be his intent? Just sex? A relationship? There’s a lot of different factors there.”

Pepper narrows her eyes. “Okay, if Stephen Strange came up to you right now and said he wanted another round of sex, would you say yes?”

Tony nods. “Oh absolutely, no questions there.”

“Now what if he came up to you and asked you out on an actual date? Would you accept?”

Tony pauses as he ponders the question. A date would be nice - it’s a free dinner, after all. And it would be fancy, most definitely. And Stephen Strange seems to be a compelling date - he could certainly bring up intelligent conversation and possibly have a nice, hefty debate. “Yeah,” Tony nods, “I think I would.”

Pepper smirks - the expression that Tony knows all too well. The kind that says, _ ‘I’m right and you know it.’ _ Tony hates it. “Yeah, I thought so. He’s different, isn't he?”

Tony rolls his eyes, but does eventually nod. “Yeah, Pep. I think he is.”

* * *

His cell phone rings at 5:30 in the afternoon, and Tony turns to stare at his cellphone, sitting on a table and far away from the couch. With a sigh, he hoists himself up and walks over, seeing an unknown number pop up on screen. He sighs again - probably just another robo-call, and answers the call with a “Yo.”

_ “Tony, hey.” _

Tony stops in his tracks - just freezes. He knows that voice - it’s the one that was whispering in his ear last night. It’s unmistakable.

“Stephen?”

_ “Hope it’s alright I called you. You did give me your number, after all.” _ Stephen says, and Tony doesn’t even have to be around him to know that he’s smirking. That daft bastard. 

“I didn’t expect you to call so soon, Doc.” Tony replies, leaning against the table. “In fact, I expected you to never actually call.”

_ “Well, is me going against your expectations a bad thing?” _

Tony grins, ignoring the way the voice on the other line causes his heart rate to speed up. “No, Doc, not at all. Though why are you calling? Think about my offer for collaboration?”

Stephen takes a deep breath. _ “While that is a good reason, I’m actually calling because I had forgotten to ask you about a charity event that’s tonight. I’m supposed to be speaking and well, wanted to know if you wanted to come with me.” _

“Wow, Doc,” Tony laughs a bit. “And here I thought you knew how much I hated those things. Are you forgetting we _ left _ one yesterday?”

Tony hears a chuckle on the other line. _ “Yes, Tony, I’m quite aware about how boring you think these events are. However, I don’t have the same friends that you do, meaning I go there, give a speech, and well...we can go back to my place afterwards. We absolutely do not have to stay the whole time.” _

Tony smirks, knowing all too well what ‘going back to Stephen’s place’ actually means. “Hmm, and what if I decline?”

_ “Then I’d say okay and ask Christine again.” _ Stephen replies, _ “but I figured it’d also be a little entertaining to see the media in a frenzy.” _

“Ah,” Tony gets off the table and walks around. “I can see the headlines now. ‘Tony Stark and Stephen Strange? Out Again?’ Sheesh, they _ never _let up.”

_ “So will you come?” _

“I will come, Strange,” Tony says, and because he’s feeling a little playful, he adds in: “to the event _ and _ at your place.”

He hears a snicker and Tony can’t help but smile. _ “Sounds good, Tony. I’ll pick you up at 7, okay?” _

“Alright, Strange. I’ll see you at 7. Bye,” Tony hangs up the phone just as Pepper walks into the room. 

“Strange?” she begins, a smirk on her face. “Did I hear that name correctly?”

Tony made his way back to his place on the couch and collapsed in it, sighing. God only knows why Pepper likes to tease him so much. “Yes, Pep. You heard correctly. I’m going to a charity event with him tonight.” 

Pepper crosses her arms, her expression remaining unchanged. “A charity event? So soon after the last one?” she covers her mouth as she giggles, and she walks towards Tony and sits next to him on the couch. “I thought you hated those things.”

“Oh, believe me, I do,” Tony replies, “but he said he had a speech and then we can get out, and uh, well, go back to his place.”

“Ah,” Pepper leans back into the couch, crossing her legs and collapsing her fingers together. She gives him a sweet, innocent smile. “Back to his place. So this is all just for another round of sex, huh?”

The billionaire shrugs. “More or less. I did tell you I would take the opportunity if it arose, did I not?”

“Yeah, but,” Pepper stares at him with a bit of intensity. Tony shifts under it. “I don’t know. I feel like he’s not going to leave your life any time soon.”

What the _ hell _ did she mean by _ that? _ Tony shoots her an incredulous look, shifting his torso towards her, with one arm leaning against the couch cushions and the other on his lap. “I have several questions. But they all lead up to the one, which is: _ why?” _

Pepper throws her hands up in the air and stands up. “I don’t know, Tony, it’s just a gut feeling.” She checks the watch on her wrist and sighs, walking away, “I have to go run some errands, you know, for your company. Enjoy yourself tonight,” she pauses, and turns to look at him. Her gaze is serious. “And Tony, if you do not want to be in a relationship, I suggest that you tell him you’re not looking for one,” she spins back around and continues as she walks out the door. “Just a suggestion that may be helpful in the future.”

Tony watches her leave before collapsing back into the cushions. He groans as he sinks down, knowing Pepper is right. It’s true, he does not want nor does he need a relationship at the moment. And it’s not like Stephen isn’t great, no, he’s amazing (or at least seems to be. _ Definitely _ great in bed though). Tony’s just scared of the emotional attachment. 

And by that, he means he will never let himself get in too deep. 

Tony sighs, sitting up. He’s going to have to talk to Stephen tonight. 

No, wait, in the morning. Definitely in the morning. Dick move, but hey, he’s not perfect.

And there’s always the off chance that Stephen could feel similar. Which would be highly convenient, because then there’s less awkwardness.

Tony sucks in his breath and releases it slowly, dragging it out. He checks the time on his phone: 5:53. He’s got to get ready.

He’ll worry about this later. After the fun, of course.

* * *

“You did a _ great _job on your speech, by the way.” Tony chimes as he gets into the elevator. Stephen rolls his eyes and presses the button to his floor. “What? It’s true!”

“Please, were you even _ listening?” _ His tone is playful, light, but just a bit too accusatory for Tony’s liking. Tony scowls. 

“Yes, I _ was. _ You were going off about...um...neurological stuff. Oh! And the hospital. Definitely something about the hospital.” Tony bites at his lip, rubbing his goatee. “Did you talk about the spinal cord at one point?” 

“Glad to know I’ve still got it,” Stephen grunts, “it’s alright, it’s not like anyone pays attention to your speeches either.”

Tony crosses his arms. “Bullshit! Everyone listens to me.”

Stephen mocks a snoring noise. Tony shakes his head and playfully pushes him. Except a little harder than intended, and with a _ bang, _ Stephen’s shoulder slams into the wall. “Ow, fuck!” he exclaims, rubbing at his shoulder.

Tony’s hand flies up to his mouth. “Shit, are you okay? I didn’t mean to push you that hard.”

Then Stephen starts laughing, _ hard, _ and Tony elects to ignore the fluttering feeling that sprung alive in his stomach. “I’m fine, I’m fine, just—” he’s trying to get his words out. “I can’t tell you why I’m laughing so hard, but I just found that extremely fucking funny.” Then he clears his throat and stands to full composure. “I guess I never expected such power from a tiny, little man.”

As soon as he says it, he breaks down in laughter again, and Tony crosses his arms and scowls. The feeling in his stomach is now _ way _ more prominent, but again, he chooses to ignore it. “That was so uncalled for.”

“I’m sorry, I had to say it.” Stephen smiles as the elevator dings open. “Don’t tell me you didn’t find that funny. Come on, that was good. Give me some credit.”

Tony follows Stephen out of the elevator, still scowling. Sure, he’s a bit on the shorter side, but Stephen’s not _ that _ much taller than he is. “I will do no such thing. Making fun of a man’s height is a low blow.”

Pulling out his keys, Stephen tosses him a smirk. “Guess I’ll have to make it up to you then, hmm?”

Oh, the sound of that is lovely, and it’s like everything about Stephen just drags Tony in, like a vacuum. “Yeah, I think I’d like that.” He leans against the wall and watches intently as Stephen unlocks the door. His heart is hammering in his chest again (why is it _ doing _ that?) and before he knows it, he’s being grabbed by his tie and lead into the bedroom. When Stephen shuts the door, 

Tony takes off his suit jacket and tosses it somewhere. Stephen mirrors his move, and when Tony goes to take off his tie, Stephen stops him. “Let me do that.”

Tony lowers his hands and peers at Stephen. “What is it with you and ties?”

“I always think it leads to the anticipation,” Stephen replies as he slowly loosens the tie, “which in turn, can lead to better and more fulfilling sex.”

“Is this scientifically proven, Strange?”

“I’m not sure,” Stephen murmurs, “but I do know that it is one hundred percent doctor recommended.”

The tie comes off, and this time it’s Tony who surges forward. It takes Stephen by surprise, then something seems to click and shifts into overdrive. He regains control by slipping his tongue into his mouth and moving them to the bed. His hands are traveling, and Tony’s gasping for breath. Soft moans are heard and names are shouted and it’s like electricity is coursing through Tony’s veins. And then Stephen’s lips start traveling to other places and Tony’s hands are no longer gripping the sheets and he’s gasping with pleasure and it’s so absolutely surreal.

Tony had expected the second round to be not as flaming as the first, but as he lays there, panting for breath — he realizes that he is _ dead wrong. _

* * *

Tony awakes naturally around 9 AM, and to his surprise, he sees that Stephen is still in the bed. He’s reading something, so Tony turns on his side. “What’re you readin’?” he murmurs into the pillow.

“Hm?” Stephen turns to look at him.

“I said,” Tony clarifies, lifting his head up completely. “What are you reading?”

“Oh!” Stephen exclaims, “it’s just a doctor’s manual. I tend to look at them from time to time.”

“Refreshes the brain, huh?” Tony sits up.

Stephen nods in response, and Tony desperately tries to ignore the breathtaking view of Stephen’s side profile being illuminated by the morning light. He sighs out loud, without meaning to, and Stephen turns to look at him before closing the book and putting it to the side. “You want to talk about something, don’t you?”

“Well,” Tony shrugs, “yeah, I kinda do.”

Stephen smiles and lets out a chuckle. “Oh, Tony, I know you don’t do relationships. Don’t worry, I knew that going into this.”

Tony’s taken aback, and briefly stunned. “How did you know that was what I was going to talk about?”

“Tony, you’re notorious for being a ‘playboy bachelor,’ or whatever you’d like to refer to yourself as. I was actually a bit surprised that you accepted my invitation to go to the event, but I want to make this clear, that wasn’t me trying to get you to date me, I just actually needed a date.” 

Tony blinks for a bit, then he lets out a huge sigh of relief. “Well, that’s great, you made my job so much easier. I just wanted to make that clear that anything romantic wasn’t my intention.”

“Yeah, I knew that, no worries,” Stephen assures, “though I actually want to be friends with you.”

Tony arches an eyebrow. Friends? That’s...unusual. “Are you suggesting a friends with benefits type thing? Because—”

“No,” Stephen rapidly shakes his head. “I meant actual friends. Friends that hang out. Friends that work together, possibly a collaboration. Not sleeping around.”

“Oh,” Tony says, and he ponders on it for a moment. He’s got two close friends (both whom he _ may _ have had flings with in the past - but that’s a discussion for another time) and Stephen definitely seems like a great guy to hang around. Tony will never admit it out loud, but for once, the event that he was yesterday wasn’t actually... _ boring. _ He talked with Stephen almost the entire time, discussing and debating anything imaginable. It was fun, light-hearted, and certainly passed the time. Not to mention the absolute brilliance of the other man, combined with the arrogance and snark — it all makes him and equal match for Tony.

Yeah, he could definitely have Stephen in his life. “That’s actually fine. I’d love that.”

Stephen smiles wide, his eyes crinkling just a bit. “Awesome. I was really hoping we could strike up a friendship.”

“But no more sex, right?”

“No more,” Stephen shakes his head, “none at all.”

“Good, yeah, that’d probably be for the best.” Tony takes a brief pause, biting his lip. “Oh! I know what you can help me with as your newfound job as friend!”

Stephen casts him an amused glance. “My newfound _ job? _ And what?”

“You’ll get used to the title,” Tony waves a hand in dismissal. “I’m actually starting to work on a project to get rid of MRI scans—”

“Hold on,” Stephen puts a hand up, “get _ rid _of MRI scans?”

Tony huffs, “let me finish.”

Stephen makes a motion with his hands to continue. 

“MRI scans can take up to sixty minutes long, sometimes even longer depending on the injury. And when the patient is in there, they can’t move at all. It’s boring. It’s claustrophobic, it sucks, essentially. But they gotta do it, because they gotta know what’s wrong with their brain.” Tony shifts closer onto the bed, a bright smile on his face. “I was thinking, what if there were devices that we could place on the outside of the head that could _ act _ as an MRI test? Scan the brain for any damages, injuries, tumors, et cetera. All in a matter of minutes. That would eliminate the need for the big, burly machine. But _ then _ I thought, what if I, being the absolute _ genius _that I am, take it a step further, and allow those devices to not only scan the brain, but to create an interactive hologram of the patient’s brain. You can get a closer look at all the lobes and different sections individually, hell, probably even single out a neuron.”

Stephen stares at him, his face blank for a moment. Then he raises his eyebrows. “You can...actually do that?”

Tony smiles. “I’m already a master at creating artificial intelligences, and my AIs can already do a complete body scan that’s interactive.” He jabs a finger lightly into Stephen’s (bare) chest. “I would need you, Mr. Brain Expert, to help me figure out specifics when designing the devices.”

“I—” the doctor seems to be at a loss for words. “Yeah, I guess I can help you with that. That’s an incredible idea, actually.”

“I know,” Tony grins, “You’re really down to help?”

“Yeah, of course, Tony.”

“Perfect,” Tony replies, “how does Wednesday sound? 2:00? My place?”

“Wednesday at 2:00 sounds fine,” Stephen replies, smiling.

“Awesome, you’re the best.” Tony swings his legs out of bed and grabs his clothes, quickly putting them on. He sends a quick text to Happy and asks for a ride, and turns back to Stephen. “I gotta get going, but seriously, wonderful time last night. And I can’t wait for us to work on this together.”

“I’m just glad we both agreed on being friends,” Stephen says, “as cheesy as that fucking sounds.”

Tony finishes putting on a sock and sticks his hand out. “Been a pleasure sleeping with you, Doctor Strange.”

Stephen chuckles and shakes his hand. “You as well, Mister Stark.”

* * *

The door to his lab opens and it startles Tony for a brief second, until his vision focuses on Rhodey walking into the room, a smirk on his face. Tony knows what conversation is coming and he scoffs, looking back down at his project. 

“So, what’s this I hear about a new friend coming to help play with your toys?” Rhodey asks, “and why wasn’t _ I _ invited?”

“Yeah, I made a new friend,” Tony replies, “you jealous or something? Because you’ll always be my number one, Rhodeybear. Don’t you worry.”

Rhodey rolls his eyes and sits down in a nearby chair. “Glad to hear it. So, you wanna tell me how all this happened?”

“I don’t remember telling _ you _ about it. How do you even know?”

Rhodey holds his hand up. “One,” he says, using his fingers to count, “the media has been all over you two. And two, Pepper. She’s been telling me about how you’ve been obsessing over this man. And how he’s coming over today and you’ve been frantically cleaning your lab.”

“I have—“ Tony snaps his head up to look at him, frowning. “I have _ not _ been frantically cleaning up my lab!” He points an accusatory finger at his friend. “She is spreading bold-faced lies and you’re enabling her.”

“Mhm, is that why that bottle of bleach is over there?” Rhodey motions with his head. Tony spins around and sees it, narrowing his eyes. Shit, of course he’d leave that out. 

“Well, maybe I’m doing some cleaning, but it’s just because it was due time,” Tony defends, “not because of Stephen. We’re friends and working together on a project—that’s about it.”

“Didn’t you sleep with him? _ Twice?” _

“I slept with you,” Tony retorts, “and we’re only friends.”

“You slept with me_ once _,” Rhodey emphasizes, “and we were both drunk and stupid.”

Tony snorts, shaking his head. “I don’t see your point.”

“You slept with him twice within two days, at _ his _place nonetheless,” Rhodey shrugs, “something’s different about this one, that’s for sure.”

Tony stares at him, his eyebrows furrowed and his face blank. That’s both Pepper and Rhodey who agree that Stephen is different, and Tony himself even thought so. But—and Tony has made this clear—he doesn’t want it to be different. Emotional attachment is just _ too _ much, too time-consuming, and too distracting. Not to mention frightening. Being vulnerable to someone where they can use that to their advantage and completely hurt you? Tony would rather not. 

“Rhodey,” Tony begins after a minute, “you know I don’t do relationships. Emotional attachment is dangerous.”

Rhodey scoffs and shakes his head. “Yeah, I know. I guess Pepper and I both wish that you’d see our point of view on these sort of things. Relationships can be beautiful and fun, Tones. It’s not about fretting over whether or not someone is going to leave you.”

“It’s not just that,” Tony waves a hand and shakes his head. “Nevermind. Look, it’s almost 2:00, do you think you can leave? Stephen’s going to be here any minute and then we have to get to work.

Rhodey smirks. “What, I can’t meet your new friend? I’ll need to give you my approval of him.”

“No, get out.”

“Aw,” Rhodey gets up from the chair. “Why not? Let me meet your friend.”

“Sir,” JARVIS speaks. “Doctor Strange is here. Shall I let him in?”

“Yes,” Tony replies, “send him down to the lab.” He turns to Rhodey and jabs a finger into his chest. “Leave, Honeybear.”

“Hmm,” Rhodey smiles, watching as a figure appears in the doorway. He walks towards the door and opens it. “Doctor Strange, I’ve heard a lot about you.” He holds his hand out, and with a smirk, Stephen takes it.

“Oh? You have? You must be Rhodey, then,” Stephen replies, “has Tony been bragging about me? I know I’m a real catch.”

Tony scoffs as Rhodey chuckles. The _ nerve _ of those two. Rhodey turns to face Tony and points a thumb behind his shoulder towards Stephen. “I like him. He’s just like you.” He pats Stephen three times on the shoulder. “Congratulations, you have my approval.”

“We aren’t dating, Rhodey,” Tony reminds him, “he doesn’t need your approval.”

“Too bad,” Rhodey walks out of the lab. “Everyone needs my approval. See you later!”

Tony watches him leave, and sighs as he collapses in a nearby chair. He groans out loud, and Stephen lets out a little laugh at the noise. Tony stares at him, his eyebrows furrowing. “Don’t make fun of me. Rhodey’s just giving me a hard time. Also, I do not talk about you as much as he wants to make you believe,” he covers his face with his hands, “just FYI.”

“Oh, stop it,” Stephen walks over and leans against a work table. He’s wearing a grey t-shirt and jeans. Very casual—Tony likes the sight. “He’s just teasing, and it’s always alright if you want to talk about me. Like I said,” he grins, “I’m a real catch.”

“Shut up,” Tony groans and stands up, “this room ain’t big enough for both of our egos.”

“You’re the one who invited me,” Stephen reminds him.

“Don’t make me regret it.”

Stephen holds his hands up, as if he were surrendering. “I’m not, I’m not.” He peers down at Tony’s work table, and sees the project he’s working on. Eyeing Stephen’s observations, Tony can tell he’s a little confused. On the table, there’s four metal pieces, that seem to look like small, metal donuts. There’s ridges on the side that stick out. Stephen looks up at him and arches his eyebrows. “Is _ this _ part of your big project?”

Tony flashes a smile. “Yes, indeed. These pieces attach to your head, and create the scan I was telling you about. The ridges allow them to latch onto the skin,” Tony shrugs, “there’s obviously a bit of a pinch, but we can always wipe the area down with a bit of anesthetic if we really wanted to.”

“And where on the head would you place them?” Stephen asks, the question a bit cautious. Of course, Tony wouldn’t expect anything less from a neurological expert. 

“That’s where you come in. I don’t exactly know how MRI scans work,” Tony explains, “I have to admit, the brain area is where I’m a little...how do I put this...underdeveloped in my knowledge.”

Stephen crosses his arms, tilting his head a bit. “Couldn’t you just use Google? Or something?”

“Ah,” Tony picks up one of the metal rings. “Why use Google, which could potentially be unreliable in information, when I can use a world-renowned brain expert?”

Stephen sighs, but he sounds amused. “Flattery will get you nowhere, you know.”

“Funny, I recall you being an egomaniac. I think it drives you.”

“Perhaps,” Stephen picks up one of the rings and studies it. “Well, you’ve made four, right?”

“Yeah, I’m in the process of making more, and I’m thinking like four more—”

“No, hold on,” Stephen stops him by holding a finger up, “I think you will only need three more.”

Tony looks at him incredulously. “Oh?”

Stephen takes a deep breath. “I don’t _ exactly _ know how powerful your technology is, but let me just assume it’s pretty powerful at detecting magnetic fields as an MRI would.” He holds up four fingers. “There are four lobes of the cerebrum. Frontal, Parietal, Occipital, and Temporal. You can place those devices on where each of those lobes are. Two for the temporal, on either side of the head. But that only takes care of the cerebrum. Then you can place a device on the cerebellum,” he points to that back of his head, then lowers his finger, “and then the brainstem.” His hands fall back to his side. “I’m sure that will give you an accurate scan of the brain. It’s allowing each piece to focus on a different part of the brain.”

Tony’s eyes widen, and he suddenly feels...a little dumb. “Of course,” he mutters, “I should have known that.”

Stephen tosses him a comforting smile. “Nonsense, it just makes a bit more sense then just placing the devices sporadically,” he taps his chin. “Though I suppose it does pose a problem to people with thick or long hair—that’s the one thing MRIs can do.”

“It’s fine,” Tony holds a hand up. “Parting the hair to find the scalp is good enough. The devices are small and are sturdy enough.”

“And how long do you need these devices to be in for an accurate scan?” Stephen questions, raising his eyebrows. “Could be a bit uncomfortable.”

“Not as uncomfortable as an MRI scan,” Tony snorts, “but like I said before, it’ll be a rather quick scan. devices could probably be taken out after five minutes or so. The scan can be saved.”

Stephen twists his face in a confusing way. “I still am not sure how you manage to use this technology. Like, oh, how do I say this,” he bites at his lip, “do you have an example of how it works?”

“Well, not necessarily with a device such as this,” Tony admits, scratching the back of his head. “But if you take a look over there at that machine, that’s pretty much the foundation of my artificial intelligence. The center over there is where I stand, and JARVIS proceeds to take a full body scan of me, and then projects a holographic version where I can go into detail.”

“No way,” Stephen shakes his head in disbelief.

“Yes way,” Tony grins, “let me show you.”

He walks—no, struts— towards the machine and steps on it. He holds his arms out, parallel to the floor and tosses a wink towards Stephen, who watches carefully while he leans against the work table. “JARVIS,” Tony calls out, “perform a full body scan, please.”

“On it, sir,” the computer voice responds. 

The machine starts to _ whrr _ around him, blue light completely covering Tony as the machine works its magic. Tony sees, out of the corner of his eye, Stephen gazing at him with a form of intensity and curiosity. He can also see Stephen gripping the side of the table, as if he were nervous.

The machine stops after five minutes, and thirty seconds later, a projection pops up. “Sir,” JARVIS begins, “your body scan appears to show you in impeccable health. Blood levels are normal. Could use some more iron, though, Have you tried vegetables, sir?”

Tony scowls and drops his arms. “That’s enough out of you, JARVIS,” he lets out a laugh. “Why did I program you to be so sassy?”

“Holy. Shit.”

Tony turns his head and sees Stephen walking towards him. His expression is one of pure awe, and he stares at the projection, obviously fascinated. “This,” he begins, mouth agape, “is you? This is _ your body?” _

“Yep,” Tony enunciates the ‘p,’ “that’s me. This is my body, and it was all done in five minutes. Check this out.” Tony moves his fingers from the center outward, zooming in on the projection’s chest. “JARVIS, let me take a look at my heart here, can I?”

“Absolutely, sir,” a line runs down the projection and shows a heart, lungs, and ribcage.

“Thank you,” Tony smiles, and he puts his hand into the projection, grabbing the heart. He pulls it out of the hologram and it sits in his hand, as if it were real. “See? Interactive. I’m holding my heart in my hand.”

Stephen quickly jumps forward and grabs the projected heart. “Let me see that,” he says, staring in awe.

Tony laughs. “Careful, Doc, I can’t have you stealing my heart now.”

Stephen shoots him an odd look—a mix between amusement and annoyance. “This is absolutely incredible. How the hell did you manage to do this? I can’t even wrap my head around it.”

“That’s because, Doc,” Tony takes the heart back and places it into the projection. “I am a genius.”

“Fuck yeah, you are,” Stephen mutters, “and you managed to turn this whole thing into a measly little device?”

“Yup,” Tony is smug, and he knows he’s being smug. “It was a little bit of work, mind you, and I haven’t even tested it out yet. According to you, I still have to make three more.”

“How long does each one take?” 

“To make?” Tony rubs his chin, “probably eight hours of nonstop work.”

Stephen blinks, his hand instinctively covering his mouth. “Shit, that long? Do you ever sleep?”

Tony shrugs. “Yeah, I do. Just sometimes I prefer to be working on stuff. And sleep? Man, you shouldn’t even be talking. I know those surgeries can go on for hours.”

Stephen snaps his fingers. “They gotta be perfect, can’t mess up.”

“Exactly,” Tony looks down at a device in his hand. “These have to be perfect, can’t mess this up either.”

Stephen whistles. “I suppose so.”

“Well,” Tony claps his hands together, smiling. “I don’t want to have to bore you with watching me work for eight hours. You can leave if you want, and I can call you when I’m done so we can test these bad boys out? If that’s alright with you.”

“Sure,” Stephen nods, “I’ll see myself out. You’ve done impressive work here, Stark.”

Tony fights to suppress a blush. Something _ about _ his voice awakens a feeling deep inside him. “I know. See you soon, Strange.”

Smirking, the doctor leaves the lab, and Tony watches him go. When he’s completely out of view, Tony lets out a sigh he never knew he was holding. 

“Sir, I’ve detected a change in your heart rate.” JARVIS tells him, and Tony waves a hand in dismissal.

“It’s nothing, J,” Tony says, “it’s nothing.”

He takes a gander at his project so far. The four metal rings stare back at him, and he lets out another sigh. He snaps his fingers. “J, let’s hear Best of the 80’s, okay?”

“As you wish, sir.” JARVIS responds, and music flows through his lab as Tony sits down and continues to work.

* * *

“So…” Pepper begins, leaning across the bar with her chin on her hand and a smirk on her face. “How’s everything going?”

Tony stares at her; knowing Pepper, she can be hinting at two things: the project that she’s working on, or his supposed “more-than-friendship” with Stephen. Or both. Probably the latter.

He turns around and fixes himself a drink. “You’ll need to be more specific, Pep. There’s loads of things you could be talking about right now.” He turns around and points behind him. “You want one?”

“Sure,” Pepper nods, “I’ll take one.” Tony hands her a glass and proceeds to make her drink. “How’s your project going?”

“Fine,” Tony replies, “still in the midst of making the seventh piece. Once that’s done, I can call Stephen over and we can test it out, make sure everything is working all fine and dandy.”

It’s been three days since Stephen’s visit—and a rather hectic three days at that. He had the time to finish two devices, but unfortunate events (a dip in stocks, a press conference, boring things) caused a delay in the process. 

Pepper smiles at the mention of Stephen’s name. “Ah, the handsome doctor. How is _ that _ going?”

Tony takes a swig of his drink. “How is what going?”

“You know,” Pepper wiggles her eyebrows, “you and Stephen.”

“Absolutely nothing going on. Didn’t I tell you this?”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Well start,” Tony narrows his eyes. “I’m not having this conversation again. A man can’t just have friends?”

Pepper sighs, taking a drink. “You told me yourself that he’s different.”

“Eh, I was in a post-sex haze,” Tony replies. Not entirely a stretch of the truth there, but also not entirely factual. “I could have said anything along those kinda lines.”

“Yeah,” Pepper mutters, “and I'm the king of the world.”

“Pepper, you know I don’t—”

“Do relationships. I _ know,” _Pepper sighs again. She reminds Tony of one of his old teachers in elementary school. Doesn’t scold, but can easily tell when disappointed. “I just don’t want you to be lonely throughout your entire life, Tony.”

“That’s unfair,” Tony rebuts, “lots of people live their lives without getting into relationships. I have my friends. I have you, I have Rhodey, and well, now I have Stephen. I don’t need to dig any deeper than that.”

“That’s a different story,” Pepper shakes her head. “Some people don’t experience attraction. You do, Tony. You’re just afraid of ruining things. Commitment, rather. That’s what you told me. That’s what you told Rhodey. And while that’s all fine and dandy with us,” she taps her finger gently on the marble countertop, “it may not be all fine and dandy in the future with other people.”

Tony shrugs. “Like I said, as long as I have you guys, I’m fine.”

Pepper places a hand on top of his, and she looks at him with a sincere stare. Tony feels himself slightly quivering under her gaze - he’s seen her angry, sad, upset, disappointed, but he can’t remember the last time her eyes looked so..._ soft. _ “I’m glad you have us, Tony. But love, it can come hit the fan at any point in time. One of these days, you might actually fall in love, and you won’t know what to make of yourself.” She bites at her bottom lip. “And I wish you weren’t so afraid of it, either.”

Tony shakes his head. “You know I’d fuck everything up, Pepper. Can’t risk myself or anyone getting hurt,” he inhales deeply, “better to suppress those feelings now, while I’m at it.”

“And how long do you plan on suppressing them?”

“Forever,” Tony responds, and he says it with a hint of indignance. 

Pepper solemnly shakes her head from side to side. “You say that now, but sooner or later, nature is going to take its course. It happens to the best of us. You can’t suppress your emotions for long.” She gets up from the bar and smiles a soft smile. “And for the record, you don’t fuck everything up. I understand that you think you do, but you don’t.”

Tony doesn’t respond, just takes another drink. The burn feels amazing down his throat.

Pepper takes that as her cue to leave, and she does so, sighing in the process.

And Tony can’t help but feel he’s disappointed her in some way. 

* * *

Punctual as always, Stephen enters the lab at 2:00 PM the following Monday morning. As Tony lets him in, his eyes gloss over the taller figure in front of him. A blue dress shirt with black dress pants, hair slicked back (minus a few loose curls around the forehead), and a freshly shaved face. Tony takes a whiff at the air around him as Stephen walks by, and wow, is that cologne strong.

“Date night tonight?” Tony asks as he closes the door behind him. “Fancy getup, shaved...you tryna impress someone?”

“No,” Stephen laughs, shaking his head, “I've just come from a meeting of sorts. Business casual, of course.” 

“Well, sheesh, I could smell you from miles away,” Tony teases, “what did you do, bathe in that cologne?”

Stephen rubs the back of his neck and smiles sheepishly. “Guess I’m a bit irresponsible with the cologne. At least it smells good.”

“True,” Tony smiles, “it does smell good.”

“So,” Stephen changes the subject. “You’ve got all seven pieces?”

“All done and ready for testing.”

Stephen stares down at the seven metal devices and sighs. “I’ve gotta be the dummy, don’t I?”

“Oh, don’t think of it like that,” Tony grins and slaps Stephen on the back. “Think of it like...you’re the first person to ever try my amazing invention.”

“Still a test dummy.”

“Don’t be so negative,” Tony grabs a nearby chair and lightly pushes Stephen into it. “Although, you should probably sign an agreement. You know, that you won’t sue me if I accidentally fry your brain or something.”

Stephen waves him off. “If you fried my brain, chances are I wouldn’t be able to sue. Also, I chose to do this, so, no lawsuit from me.”

“Good,” Tony replies, “J, can you bring me up a map of the brain please? With the lobes and shit labeled?”

“Absolutely, sir,” JARVIS says, and a holographic map of the brain appears. Each lobe of the brain appears in a different color. 

“Perfect,” Tony smiles at the hologram and grabs some anesthetic and a device. “I’m wiping the first area down with an anesthetic, so you probably won’t feel anything.” He shifts the loose curls out of the way and wipes an area down on the forehead. He also tries not to think about Stephen’s (gorgeous) eyes staring up at him, watching him work. Quickly grabbing the device, he attaches it to Stephen’s forehead, and it makes a brief _ whirring _ sound before snapping into place, gently glowing a faint blue color. 

“Yes!” Tony grins, “it’s in and glowing. Now I just have to attach the other six.”

“Hmm,” Stephen lets out a small chuckle. “I don’t feel a thing. You sure you won’t have to shave part of my head?”

Tony shakes his head. “Trust me, Doc. Small and sturdy. Your hair will be covered in anesthetic, most likely. A bit annoying, but fixable.”

“Alright, I trust you. Don’t make me regret it.”

“No promises, though.”

Stephen only grunts in response, and Tony prepares the area for the next device: the right temporal. It attaches with ease and glows—another success. 

He repeats his process—slowly covering an area with anesthetic and placing the device on. Once they’re all on, Tony cannot help but let out a laugh at how the devices look. Stephen’s hair is sticking up in all sorts of places, and the glowing, blue dots all around his head give off an alien vibe. 

Stephen, of course, narrows his eyes at Tony while he’s laughing. “Really looks that stupid, huh?”

“It looks like science and the art of the genius,” Tony says in between laughter. “You feel anything?”

Stephen frowns for a moment before shaking his head. “No. I feel a bit of pressure, but that’s all.”

“Good,” Tony grins, “well, let’s test these bad boys out!” He claps his hands together. “JARVIS, run _ ‘FMRI’ _test one please.”

“On it, sir,” came the reply.

“_ ‘FMRI?’” _ Stephen asks.

“_ Fuck MRIs’” _ Tony answers with a smirk. He takes a look at the computer. “It’s scanning, and doing its job. Let’s hope the hologram does all this shit justice.” 

The two watch the computer for approximately five minutes, both eagerly awaiting the results. The anticipation is creeping up on Tony, and he can feel his heart pounding in his chest. 

“All done, sir,” JARVIS announces. An image of a brain pops up in front of them, and Stephen lets out a gasp and stands up, covering his mouth. 

“Is that…” Stephen’s voice is slightly muffled, and his eyes are dark with astonishment. “Is that _ actually _ my brain?”

Tony bites his lip and moves his hands in a ‘zoom-in’ gesture. The hologram moves with it, the luminous hue lighting the smile on his face. “Yeah,” Tony replies, “this is your brain. Because you’re perfectly healthy, the scan isn’t really showing much detail. But if you were to have something along the lines of a brain tumor, the scan would indicate it by highlighting the region.” He turns to look at Stephen, who continues to stare at the hologram with awe. Tony _ definitely _chooses to ignore how utterly gorgeous Stephen’s eyes look in the reflection of the holographic hue. “Kinda cool, isn’t she?”

Stephen blinks a lot of times before letting out a chuckle. “Incredible, truly. I didn’t think it would work with only one test.” He turns his head to look at Tony. “Though you’re still reliant on your own AI...JARVIS, right?”

Tony nods. “JARVIS only activated it for me. I can design a switch of sorts. Maybe a remote. Something that can start the scan. It could also be where the projection comes from, because, well, I can’t make a JARVIS for everyone.”

“You couldn’t handle multiple mes, sir.” JARVIS somehow manages to portray snark.

“Hey,” Tony places his hands on his hips. “Stop sassing me.”

“You programmed me, sir.”

Stephen covers his mouth and giggles. Tony glares at him. “Don’t encourage him.”

“He’s funny,” Stephen defends, “I like funny.” He rubs the back of his neck to feel one of the metal pieces. “You think we can take these off now? How do you even take them off, anyway?”

“A simple process,” Tony explains, “just push the glowing blue button and the device detaches itself.” He presses one and allows the device to fall into his hand, placing it onto the work desk. The rest come off easy, and as soon as they’re all off, Stephen is running his hands through his hair, trying to guide it to its previous state. 

Tony tries not to stare. He really tries. But the way Stephen bites his lip as he’s staring at his reflection in a nearby screen, combined with the unkempt status of his hair—it’s all drawing Tony towards him, like a moth to a flame. 

But it’s nothing serious, Tony reassures himself. Stephen’s just...attractive. He finds a lot of people attractive. That doesn’t mean he’s emotionally invested. Not at all.

Stephen interrupts his thoughts. “So what about keeping things sanitary? I know you’re going to want to reuse these. Have you figured out a way to clean them?”

“Hmm,” Tony rubs his chin, “good question. I’m sure sanitary wipes will do the trick. Maybe a bit of alcohol rubbing as well, for good measure.” 

“Sounds good,” Stephen replies as he stands up, stretching a bit. A small patch of skin is on display as he does so, and Tony’s eyes catch it, lingering on the spot a bit longer than he intended to. “So, what’s next?”

“What’s next, is me finishing up the project and then figuring out a way to introduce it to the world.” Tony rubs the back of his neck, noting to himself how tight it is. “Your job is finished for now. At least until I need a test dummy again.”

Stephen lets out a snort. “I’m so very useful, aren’t I?”

“100%,” Tony smiles, holding his hand out for Stephen to shake. “Thank you, though, for testing this out with me today.”

Stephen shakes his hand with a returning smile. “I only did it because I enjoy hanging out with you.”

“Yeah?” Tony drops his hand and smirks. “So does everyone else, welcome to the club.”

“Oooh, you’re a dick,” Stephen chuckles, “why can’t you ever just take a compliment like a normal person?”

“Me? Normal? That’s really funny.”

Stephen tosses him a smug look as he walks past Tony. “I’ll see you soon, Stark. Call me if you either need help, or just want to be around me.” He pauses, turning to glance at Tony, a glimmer in his eyes. “I know I’m just _ irresistible.” _

He leaves, and Tony feels like his heart is caught in his throat.

* * *

A couple of days later, Rhodey tries to talk about Stephen, and whether or not there is potential in anything going further than friendship. Tony brushes the subject off, not willing to get into the same circular explanation that he’s been giving to just about anyone who asks. After about five minutes of straight pestering, Rhodey sighs and leaves the subject alone, instead going on about how he ran into someone who was in his Statics class at M.I.T.

Tony listens, nodding along to the story—but the truth is, he’s thinking about something else. 

Why _ does _ everyone keep bothering him about Stephen? Why him? Tony has had plenty of other dates— _ ’Sexcapades,’ _ as Pepper likes to so crudely refer them as. Why weren’t they all over those like they are with him and Stephen?

It’s just annoying at this point. Shouldn’t they know by now that Tony doesn’t do that whole attachment thing? Why can’t they just respect that?

Tony frowns—it’s not like Tony’s been lonely or anything, or unusually sad and upset. Why are they so insistent on him being with Stephen?

“Hey,” Rhodey snaps Tony out of his thoughts. “You with me? You’re frowning.”

“Sorry,” Tony mutters, “was just thinking about something.”

“Oh,” Rhodey tilts his head, “do you want to talk about it?”

Tony waves a hand. “No, it’s nothing, continue talking. Sorry to doze off on you like that.”

Rhodey raises his eyebrows, but continues his story anyway.

* * *

“Why can’t you be the one who puts these on?” Stephen complains, slouching back in the chair. His head is covered in the devices for another trial run, this time with an activation remote. “I’d have been very gentle with you. Remember I deal with people’s heads on a daily basis.”

“While I’m sure you would take care of that aspect,” Tony replies, securing the final device at the back of Stephen’s head. “I know what to look for.”

“It’s not as if I’m completely incapable of doing anything while I have these on my head.” Stephen rebuts, narrowing his eyes. “You would still be able to know what to look for, what’s right and what’s not.” 

“You volunteered.”

“Yeah,” Stephen sighs, “never doing that again.”

“Oh, come on,” Tony grabs the remote off of his desk. “This isn’t bad. It could be worse. You could be doing shittier things, like watching some cheesy soap opera on your expensive TV.”

“Don’t make fun of my cheesy soap operas.”

“I think I’ll keep making fun of them, actually.” Tony grins as he presses a button on the remote. “Let’s hope this works.”

It does—thankfully. A clear projection of Stephen’s brain appears in front of them, complete with different scans and labels. Tony’s grin manages to widen, and he looks at Stephen, who is still leaning back in his chair, not even the least bit amused.

“I still would like to see you put these on. I bet you’d look so fucking weird.” Stephen says, motioning for Tony to turn off the hologram.

Tony clicks the button. “I think another reason is that you want to see my brain and study it, because I’m just _ that _interesting.” He laughs as Stephen shoots him a look, and he walks behind Stephen to help him remove the devices. “Maybe next time I’ll put them on me, deal?”

Stephen grunts in agreement. “I’d like to see it. And yeah, studying your brain could be really cool. It’d let me know how much smaller yours is in comparison to mine.”

Tony turns Stephen’s chair around so he’s looking at him, and gapes at him. “That’s bold of you to say, as if I didn’t just invent an amazing thing.”

“It’s a joke,” Stephen smirks, “ever heard of one?”

“Yeah, I’ve been staring at one for a bit now.”

“Touche.” Stephen removes the last device from his forehead and places it down on the desk. He stands up and stretches, moving his neck from side to side to crack it a bit. “Say, how would you feel about going to see a movie with me?” His eyes widen and he clears his throat. “Not as a date, or anything. I just meant in general. There’s a new Spielberg movie out, kinda wanted to see it.”

Tony ponders about it for a moment. It’d be nice to leave his lab for once. And a movie isn’t too bad. He can get some snacks (he’s always got _ some _ craving for popcorn), and some entertainment with it. Not to mention Stephen is a fun guy to hang around. He nods and smiles. “Yeah, I can do that. What time?”

“Later tonight, at like 7:00.” Stephen replies, rubbing the back of his head. His hair is all ary and it looks rather adorable, but Tony will never say that out loud. “That sound good?”

Tony nods. “7:00. Got it.”

“You can just meet me at the theater.” Stephen says, and grabs his jacket that was on the chair and puts it on. “I’ll see you later, Tony.”

“See ya.”

* * *

The movie is great. But for some reason, Tony can’t stop thinking about the man next to him. 

There’s a passionate kiss scene on the screen.

Tony feels a knot in his stomach.

* * *

“How was the movie?” Pepper asks. She’s sitting at the bar, pouring herself a glass of wine. It’s an innocent question, accompanied with a sweet smile. Tony returns the smile.

“It was really good,” Tony replies, “but I didn’t ask you to come over so you can press me questions about the movie or my ‘supposed date’ with Stephen.”

Pepper raises her eyebrows. “I was only asking about the movie. I’m done pressing you about Stephen.” She drinks from her glass. “Lord knows the next time I even mention his name. You might throw something at me.”

Tony manages to let out a small laugh. “Glad to know.”

“So, why did you invite me?”

“Well,” Tony begins, grabbing his own glass from the bar. “The _ FMRI _ is almost complete. I’m going to need to start publicizing it soon. Maybe we can showcase another Stark Expo?” Tony bites at his lip, contemplating. “Although maybe I should ask Stephen if he’d be okay being my showcase star. He got a little pissy earlier today.”

Pepper arches an eyebrow. “Why can’t you just do it yourself?”

Tony shakes his head as he pours himself a drink. “I can’t place the pieces on myself, they need to be done by very precise hands—also by experts who know the brain.”

“So, why don’t you have Stephen put them on you?”

“That’s what he wants,” Tony grumbles, “and I suppose I can do that. I don’t know, I kinda like being the one to place them on.”

Pepper stares at him incredulously. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of a little intimacy.” 

“What makes you think that?! Also, what does intimacy have to do with this?”

“You know,” Pepper gestures with her hand. “You’re up close. He’s putting things on your head.” She mumbles into her drink. “Lord knows you’re so scared of emotions.”

“But I do that to him,” Tony rebuts, “so your logic is flawed there, Pep.”

Pepper puts down her glass with a _ clink. _ “Yes, but you’re in control in that situation. The other way around, it’s out of your hands. It’s the intimacy without the controlling factor.”

Tony furrows his eyebrows. “I thought we were done discussing this subject.”

Pepper sighs. “Stark Expo. Got it. Let me know when you’re prepared fully, and we can set up a date and get promoting.”

Tony smirks. He likes winning petty wars.

* * *

“A Stark Expo?” Stephen repeats, not looking up from his phone. He’s slumped in a chair in Tony’s lab. “You want me to be in one?”

“Well,” Tony rubs the back of his head. “Yeah. That’s why I asked you to come down here.”

Stephen glances up from his phone, his gaze narrowing on the billionaire. “You couldn’t have asked that over the phone? I had to drive all the way over here for you to ask me that?”

Tony’s lips part slightly, and his eyebrows furrow. “Why? Do you _ not _like seeing me?”

“Of course I do,” Stephen sighs, shaking his head. “Sorry, I’m a bit snappy today. Had a night shift last night. Got like, no hours.”

Tony’s gaze softens. “Sorry to hear that, man. I understand the no sleep thing.”

“Yeah,” Stephen whistles, “but to answer your question...I’m not really sure. What would I be doing?”

“The same thing we’ve been doing here.”

Stephen sucks in his breath, contemplating. Tony studies the way Stephen’s eyebrows furrow, and the way he bites his lip. It...definitely does something for him. 

A few moments pass before Stephen turns his head to look at Tony. “I don’t know if I’d be comfortable being on display for all to see like that.” He looks down, rubbing the back of his neck, his cheeks tinted a faint pink. “I don’t quite know why, but it’s a little unnerving.”

Tony nods and places his hands behind him, leaning on his desk. “What if we switched roles?”  


Stephen arches his eyebrows. “I thought you didn’t want to do that.”

“I don’t,” Tony admits, “but it’s my Expo, my invention. People probably would feel more comforted knowing I’ve tested it on myself rather than other people.” He exhales heavily, an uneasy feeling sitting in his stomach for some reason. “I would need you to put the things on me. You’re the only other person who would know where they go and how to place them.” He stares at Stephen, his eyes serious. “I really would like you to be there. You helped out with this.”

Stephen takes a second to pause, before shaking his head softly. “Not much. I gave some input, yeah, but you pretty much did all of the work.”

“Please?” Tony lowers his head, looking at Stephen through fluttering eyelashes. Pepper always says his “puppy-dog eyes” were the best of the best. 

Stephen knits his eyebrows together, before sighing with a gentle smile. “You sure know how to work ‘em. Yeah, I’ll be there. Only if I can put the things on you, though.”

“Fine,” Tony grins, “we can make that work.”

“Tony Stark, showing his brain to the world,” Stephen stares at him with a glimmer in his eyes. “In both a literal sense and a metaphorical sense.”

“You flatter me too much.”

“It’s hard not to,” Stephen says, standing up and walking over towards Tony, fixing the collar on his shirt. “When you’ve been blessed with an amazing intellect.”

Tony doesn’t reply, but his face burns approximately a million degrees hotter. He watches Stephen leave after that, his hand subconsciously traveling to his own collar bone. 

* * *

They exchange a lot of text messages. Stephen texts with full grammar and absolutely no emojis. Tony makes fun of him.

Who doesn’t use emojis?

The first emoji Stephen uses is a winky face one. Tony thinks its fitting.

* * *

Pepper sets a date for the Expo. Approximately two months from now. Tony casts her an inquisitive look, wondering why it’s set so far in advance. Pepper shrugs and explains that its for preparation purposes—not something she can throw together in minutes. 

“You also need to do a couple more test runs with whatever the fuck you invented,” Pepper explains, “just to be extra safe.”

“Sounds fair,” is Tony’s reply.

“Definitely practice with Stephen putting the damn things on you.” Pepper says with a bit of snark. “I don’t want you freaking out because you were staring into his eyes on stage.”

“Damn, what’s with the sudden hostility, Pep?”

“No hostility,” Pepper clarifies, “I just want the night to go well.”

Tony shifts in his seat, subconsciously picking at the cracked edge of his phone case. “You really think I’d freak out on stage for something like that?”

Pepper sighs, shaking her head. “No, I was overexaggerating. I think you’re more composed than I’d like to believe. But mainly, I just want you to be prepared. Make sure there’s no problems with the device so everything runs smoothly and you give off a good impression.”

“Alright,” Tony leans back in his chair, completely relaxing. “I’ll do some more tests.”

“Thank you,” Pepper says, and leaves the room, taking her clipboard with her.

* * *

_ One month until Expo. _

Pepper was right. Tony is freaking out. Freaking out because Stephen is standing over him, blue eyes in a concentrated stare, wiping his forehead with an anesthetic. His heart is pounding a million miles a minute and he can hear his own blood rushing in his ears. He watches as Stephen subtly bites his lip as he grabs the device from the table and secures it into place on his forehead. “There’s one,” is all he mutters as he turns his back around to grab another.

Tony doesn’t really know what’s happening. Why his heart is pounding the way it is. It’s a little unsettling, and he sits forward in his chair and takes a few deep breaths. This captures Stephen’s attention, and he looks at him with a raised eyebrow.

“You okay?” Stephen asks. Tony nods once.

“Yeah,” Tony replies, “just thinking about things.”

“Okay, well, lean back,” Stephen lightly pushes Tony back into the chair. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Tony swallows. “No, not really.”

“Okay,” Stephen says, and leaves it at that.

The test runs smoothly—no problems are recorded, and it’s a pretty cool scan of Tony’s brain. Things are in order, and Tony knows that no more tests are going to be needed—everything is in top shape. 

“Perfect,” Tony grins, pushing his previous thoughts into the back of his mind. “No more testing is needed. I think we’re good until the event.”

Stephen smiles, running a hand through his hair. “Great. I’ve got a lot of surgeries planned for the next few weeks, so you probably won’t be seeing much of me anyway.” He grabs his jacket and puts it on. “This has certainly been a fun project to do.”

Tony rubs the back of his neck, and his face flushes slightly. “Yeah, it’s almost kind of bittersweet.”

“I’ll see you in a month. Or, maybe, we’ll cross paths somehow.” He turns to leave the lab, then pauses, spinning around to grin at Tony. “Has anyone ever told you how beautiful your eyes are?”

Tony is blushing furiously now, a little stunned. “Wh-what? No...not really.”

“Well,” he winks, “let me be the first.”

He leaves the lab, leaving Tony to stand there, brooding in his thoughts.

That smug bastard.

* * *

_ Two weeks until Expo. _

“How many people?” Tony asks, and Pepper shoots him a large grin.

“Packed house.”

There’s a sense of pride in his heart. “Perfect.”

* * *

_ One week until Expo. _

Tony waits at a booth in a Starbucks, anxiously tapping his foot. Stephen had texted him, telling him that he had time to meet for coffee or lunch. 

It’s been a couple of weeks since he’s last seen the man. He probably set a record for the fastest reply to a text. He also probably should be worried about that.

But he just wants to see Stephen. Stephen is a great guy. He’s a fun friend, an intellectual conversation, and an intriguing personality. Him being attractive is just...a fun bonus. Tony knows that. There’s nothing to it. 

Stephen walks through the doors, wearing a blue shirt with black jeans. He has sunglasses on, which he moves to the top of his head, his loose curls going with them. Tony doesn’t gape at him—and definitely doesn’t think about how good he looks. 

Stephen approaches with a smile. Tony slides a coffee across the table. “Got this for you.”

He takes a sip and lets out a chuckle. “I’m surprised you know my order.”

Tony shrugs, only mildly embarrassed. “I just remembered you mentioned it one time.”

He laughs harder this time, and Tony’s heart jumps. Why is he getting this tight feeling in his stomach? He tries to ignore it. 

“So, one week, huh? You ready?” Stephen tilts his head to the side, leaning back into the booth, his arms splayed out over the top of it. 

“Of course,” Tony smirks, “I’m always ready. The question is: are you?” 

Stephen snorts. “I’m nervous, of course, but yeah, I like to think I’m ready. Stark Expos are always big. Always famous. And I’m going to be center stage on one.” He takes a deep breath and sighs. “Gotta admit, never thought I’d see the day.”

“Did you ever think you’d sleep with me either?”

“Nope,” Stephen smiles, “that was only in my wildest dreams.”

Tony leans back in the booth, crossing his arms. A big smirk rests on his face. “Not so wild now, is it?” 

There’s a grin underneath his coffee, and it doesn’t go unnoticed. “No, I suppose not.”

“And of course, that’s a good thing.” Tony shoots him a wink. “It sure is a privilege to sleep with me.”

“Of course it is,” Stephen rolls his eyes playfully, then casts him an inquisitive look. “Speaking of, I haven’t heard about you leaving with anyone lately.”

Tony shrugs. “I haven’t been to any events.” There’s a nervous pit in his stomach for some reason. “Have you? I mean...been with anyone?”

Stephen shakes his head. “Are you kidding me? You, my friend, were a rarity. I don’t sleep around like you do.”

Tony narrows his eyes. “You don’t have to say it like that.”

Stephen raises his hands in surrender. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. It’s perfectly okay. I just meant I’m not...I’m more of a reserved kinda guy, you know?”

“So…” Tony tilts his head. “Why with me?”

“Because,” Stephen smiles softly, “you’re different.”

“I’m _ different?” _

“Yep,” he takes a drink. “I don’t think I can explain it. But you’ve always...encaptured me, I guess. Whenever you were on TV, or some paparazzi photo emerges on my newsfeed, I would always be drawn to you.” There’s a gentle tone in his voice, and it's oddly soothing. “I knew you were this big ‘playboy’ type guy, so that night, when you approached me, I knew what you wanted. And I knew what I was going to get out of it. And I will always be fine about it.” 

Tony shifts in his seat. “Guess you weren’t expecting a second time, then?”

“I offered, mainly because you gave me your number afterwards,” Stephen shrugs casually, “it really wasn’t me trying to get into your pants again, but I think I had already made that clear.”

“I believe you,” Tony reassures, “so you’re just...fine? With all of this? With our friendship?”

Stephen knits his eyebrows together. “I thought we’ve been over this. Of course I am. I don’t harbor any feelings or anything. We had a good time. That’s all.”

Tony nods. “Yeah, that’s all.” 

But there’s an uneasy feeling in his stomach, and he can’t quite place it.

Stephen’s phone buzzes, and he frowns as he checks it. “Shit,” he says, getting up out of the booth. “It’s the hospital. They need me there.” He puts his phone in his pocket and waves. “Bye, Tony. Thanks for the coffee. I’m sorry I couldn’t stay longer.”

“No problem,” Tony grins, “I’ll see you next week. Wear your best suit.”

“I’ll wear the one that hugs my ass, just for you.” Stephen laughs, and casts him a wink before he goes out the door.

Tony stares at the empty seat for about a minute before regaining his composure.

* * *

There’s lights everywhere, and Tony can see a packed arena from the wings of the stage. His heart is racing—events like these are always adrenaline rushes. On the stage rests a chair and a table with everything prepped and ready to go. Pepper is leaning against the wall, a clipboard in her hand and a headset on her head. Stephen sits in a nearby chair, his foot eagerly tapping, waiting for the moment to head on stage. 

Rhodey, who seems to have appeared out of nowhere, slaps a hand on Tony’s shoulder, startling him. “You ready?”

Tony grins. “Absolutely, Platypus. You know I was born for these.”

“I like your suit,” Stephen pipes up from the corner where he’s sitting. Tony tosses him a smirk.

“I like yours,” he replies, “and are _ you _ ready? You seem to be tapping up a storm there.”

“Eh, nerves,” Stephen shrugs, standing up. “But I’m ready.”

“Tony,” Pepper taps him. “You’re on.”

“Wait,” Stephen says, and quickly adjusts Tony’s tie. “There you go.”

“Thank you,” Tony smiles, turning around and taking a deep breath. “Here we go.”

As he walks out on stage, the crowd erupts, and it’s deafening. Tony’s heart is racing, the adrenaline pumping through his veins. Big crowds were always his specialty. “How’s everyone doing tonight?” He asks, and the audience responds with a voluminous scream.

Tony, of course, doesn’t understand a single word of what they’re saying, but he continues anyway. “You all already know who I am.” More screams. “But you probably don’t quite know why I’m having this event tonight. It’s because I have a new invention. Something for those medical nerds out there.”

There’s a lot more cheering and a bit of laughter. Tony continues: “That’s right. I’ve created and designed a medical device that can completely replace MRI scans. How many of you have had an MRI scan before?”

Lots of hands raise and some cheers. Tony nods, taking in the view. “A lot of you. And you know how they go. You gotta lay in that machine and you can’t move. You can’t do anything at all. It’s boring and it’s an enclosed space. Just overall an uncomfortable time. And to add fuel to the flame, you could be in there for a _ long _ time. Like, over an hour long. Now, I don’t know about any of you, but I sure do find it difficult to stay in one position for a long period of time. Hell, I even move in my sleep!

“Now, what if I told you that I created a device that could potentially replace MRI scans as a whole? No uncomfortable positions, no enclosed spaces, no long waits. How would you feel about that?”

The crowd roars in response. It’s thrilling. Tony grins.

“Let me introduce you to _ FMRI,” _ Tony points to the screen behind him, where a picture of the devices is displayed. “There are seven pieces that attach at specific points on your head, and with a click of a button, they perform a scan of your brain. Give it approximately five minutes, and out of this remote,” Tony grabs the remote from the table, giving it a little shake. “Out comes a perfectly holographic image of your brain. It’s interactive, and you can check each individual lobe in great detail. Better than what an MRI scan shows you.”

More screams. Tony glances towards the wings.

“How would you all feel if I showed you how this worked, with none other than my brain itself?”

Applause. Screams. As expected, of course.

“Of course, I didn’t work on this by myself. No, in fact, I collaborated with a friend of mine. I know you all have seen the media craze, so I’m sure you know who I’m talking about. And he’s going to help me today.” Tony reaches an arm out towards the stage. “Everyone, please welcome the world-renowned neurosurgeon himself, Doctor Stephen Strange!”

Stephen walks out as the audience applauds and cheers at him. He’s got a bright smile on his face as he waves to the crowd, then takes Tony’s hand and shakes it.

“Now, for the demonstration,” Tony claps his hands together as he walks towards the chair. As he sits down, he looks at Stephen. “Doctor, if you would please.”

Stephen works carefully and quickly, gently touching Tony’s face as he attaches each device. There’s a glimmer in his eyes, and as he makes direct eye contact with Tony, there’s a fluttering feeling in Tony’s stomach. It’s strangely intimate, but Tony tries his best to ignore the feeling. Then, as Stephen is placing the third device on his left temple, the room suddenly is distant. Tony’s heart begins hammering incredibly fast in his chest, and he feels like his hand is shaking. Stephen notices, and he lowers his head down to whisper in Tony’s ear. “Are you okay?”

Tony nods, taking a few deep breaths. He reaches into his pocket to turn off his mic. “I’m fine.”

“You’re shaking,” Stephen comments, as he’s getting an anesthetic wipe ready. 

“I know,” Tony replies, his voice low. “Just keep going. It’s just, um, nerves.”

Stephen nods, and moves behind Tony to get the back of his head. The back of his head is safe, he’s not staring up at Stephen. Tony calms down, willing his heart to relax and the feeling in his stomach to go away.

Stephen snaps the last attachment into place, lightly tapping on Tony’s shoulder to let him know that he’s finished. With a grin, Tony stands up, waving the remote around as the crowd claps for him. 

“That wasn’t so bad! With the use of topical anesthetic, I don’t feel any pain. Though I do look a little funny, don’t you think?”

Laughter fills the arena. Tony joins them. “Now I’m going to press this button, and in approximately five minutes, a holographic scan of _ my _ brain will be projected onto that screen.”

He pushes the button, and waits, the audience eagerly waiting with him. The moment the image is projected on screen, the arena explodes in screams, and a quick glance over towards Stephen shows him clapping and cheering as well. Tony grins and turns to face the audience, pointing at the screen behind him.

“Yes! You see? A perfectly good scan. Stephen, if you could interact with it, please.”

Stephen reaches up and moves his hand, the brain moving with him. The audience goes crazy.

Tony’s eyes roll over the audience, his grin wide and real. They’re eating this up, actively enjoying it, and there isn’t a more thrilling sight.

He shows off a few more of the hologram’s capabilities, before officially wrapping up. With the help of Stephen, the metal pieces detach from his head and he carefully places them on the table. The sendoff Tony gives is loud, typical, and the audience explodes with cheers as he walks off the stage with a huge grin on his face, blowing kisses to everyone in the crowd.

Pepper and Rhodey are smiling in the wings. “Amazing job,” Pepper squeals, “you were amazing! The both of you!” She flings her arms around Tony, hugging him tightly. “You really got that crowd going.”

“Thank you, Pep,” he squeezes her back, “that was fun.”

“Phew,” Stephen gives his arms a little shake. “I’m still all hyped up on nerves. That was some scary shit, I tell you.”

“You were amazing as well!” Pepper exclaims, giving him a hug. “I really feel like your...um...thing is going to take off!” She snaps her fingers, suddenly in realization. “_ FMRI! _ That’s the name.”

Tony lets out a chuckle. “It’s easy, Pep. Just remember. _ Fuck, _ and then _ MRI.” _

“It’s a bit crude,” Rhodey chimes in, “but it’s so _ you.” _

“Right?” Tony grins, “come on, did you really expect anything less of me?”

A voice can be heard from Pepper’s headset. She holds a finger to her ear and listens before turning back to the three men. “I’m needed elsewhere. Rhodey, you wanna come with? We need to make sure people are exiting at the right exits. Lord knows this arena has so many fucking trap doors.”

Rhodey nods. “Sure,” he turns to Stephen and Tony. “Catch you guys later.”

“Bye,” Tony waves, and watches them leave before turning back to Stephen. He shifts on his feet a bit, his hands folded behind his back, grinning. “So, pretty cool, huh?”

“Like I said before,” Stephen replies, “that was some scary shit.”

Tony rolls his eyes. “Oh, it wasn’t that bad.”

“No, I guess not,” Stephen smiles, “but I gotta tell you, watching you in front of a crowd was absolutely remarkable. I’ve seen you on TV and I’ve had my fair share of Stark Expos, but up close and personal? God, it’s like it’s in your blood. Just absolutely natural.”

“Well,” Tony shrugs, “my father did the same thing. So technically, it is in my blood.”

“You have this way of speaking to an audience, and they just become completely enamoured with you. It’s almost poetic, really. I really—” he pauses to take a deep breath. “I really enjoyed that, more than anything. Just watching you.”

Tony quirks an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Really,” Stephen nods, “I don’t really know how to explain it. You just...radiated happiness tonight. It was really contagious.” He frowns, biting his lip. “Although there was that one moment on stage where you looked...anxious...for some reason.”

Tony brushes it off. “Oh, that was nothing. Sometimes random thoughts pop into my head and I fret over them. It was only for a few moments, so really, I’m fine.”

“Good,” Stephen says, grinning, “I just wanted to make sure you were okay. If you had to be taken off of the stage, I probably would have had to take over.”

“Oh, god, no thank you,” Tony jokes, laughing, “you would _ not _ do me justice.”

“Honestly, yeah, probably,” Stephen admits, and he steps a bit closer, furrowing his eyebrows. “Man, how does your tie always manage to get messed up?”

Tony watches Stephen’s hands fly to his tie and tightening it. His heart starts racing again, and he looks up at Stephen. He catches his gaze, and Stephen’s eyes are soft, looking at him. And there’s a gentle smile on his face, the corners of his lips slightly tilting upwards. 

Tony’s stomach flips. Stephen’s hands slowly fall downwards to his side. Then his smile widens, the skin beneath his eyes crinkling up in that signature way of his.

And then it hits him.

The fluttering feeling of his stomach. The way his heart races. The wanting to see Stephen at any opportunity. The blushing, the touching, the blood pumping through his veins.

Tony Stark is utterly, completely, hopelessly, undeniably, in love with Stephen Strange.

Breathing suddenly becomes a lot more difficult. His hands start trembling at his sides.

He needs to— 

“Tony?” Stephen tilts his head.

He needs to sit down. No, no, bad idea. He needs to. He needs to leave. Fresh air.

“I—” Tony gasps, “I need to leave.” 

Stephen stares at him, eyes widening and traveling up and down Tony’s body. “Tony, you’re shaking. Are you having a panic attack?”

“I need to leave,” Tony avoids his gaze and quickly looks for an exit. It’s getting really hard to breathe. His heart keeps hammering in his chest, rattling against his ribcage. He feels like he’s going to explode. He moves past Stephen, only to be grabbed. “Let me go,” he hisses.

“Tony, I can help you. Please, let me help you.” Stephen says, in such a calm voice that Tony finds himself seething with jealousy. He forcefully removes Stephen’s hand.

“Leave me alone,” Tony rasps, “I need to go.”

He locates an exit and bolts out the door, running in a straight direction into the night, not once looking back.

* * *

Tony stares at the empty playground, softly tapping his foot against the grass. The night surrounds him, like a blanket of darkness, his only source of light being a faded streetlight nearby.

He doesn’t know how long he’s been here. His phone has been turned off for what seems like hours now. He doesn’t even really know _ where _ he is. He just ran, far away from that arena. From— 

From Stephen.

Tony groans out loud, covering his face with his hands. _ How _ can he have allowed this to happen? He made promises to himself—that emotional attachment is a no-no. He’s Tony Stark—he doesn’t _ fall in love. _

Except he fell. And he fell hard. Like the wind has been knocked out of him.

The tremors have mainly curbed themselves, but some are still present. He takes deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling slowly and carefully. He’s terrified—truly terrified. He’s never let himself get so close to someone like this. 

He loves Pepper and Rhodey, yes, but it has never been like _ this. _

Now, Tony realizes, he’s one-hundred percent _ fucked. _

“Well, I’m not one to judge, but this has been the _ worst _ game of hide-n-seek I’ve ever played in my life.” A voice says, and Tony lifts his head, eyes focusing on a clearly annoyed Stephen. His arms are crossed, his suit jacket is gone and his hair looks a mess. Tony narrows his eyes and looks away.

“How did you find me,” is all Tony grumbles. Doesn’t even ask it like a question.

“Wasn’t easy,” Stephen mutters, “didn’t help that you turned your fucking phone off.” 

“Oops,” Tony replies, but he doesn’t mean it.

Stephen tilts his head, glaring and gritting his teeth. “Do you know how long you’ve been gone for? Do you _ know _ how long we were looking for you? Four fucking hours, Tony. Pepper, Rhodey, and I have been non-stop trying to find you, and we were scared shitless. And you _ knew _ by turning your phone off that would happen.” He scoffs and shakes his head. “I get it. You’re freaking out, but seriously? You should try to be more considerate of those who care about you. We only want to help you.”

Tony whips his head around, seething. “_ Be more considerate? _ Listen, buddy, I didn’t _ ask _ for people to care about me.”

“You didn’t ask, but people do!”

“So? I don’t owe them _ shit!” _ Tony replies. “It's _ your _ choice. Not mine. I’m perfectly fine being alone.” 

“Tony, for God’s sake, you’re not _ fucking alone!” _ Stephen’s voice is bordering on shouting. “We fucking want to be by your side!”

“Again, I didn’t _ ask for that.” _

“Well too fucking bad.” Stephen shakes his head. “I just can’t fucking believe this. Running off like this? Turning off your phone? _ Seriously?” _

“Just fucking leave.”

“No,” Stephen spats. 

“I said _ LEAVE.” _

“You’re not going to push me away. You’re not going to shut me out of your life because you caught feelings!”

Tony grits his teeth. “_ Caught feelings?” _ He stands up, pointing an accusatory finger at the other man. “How fucking _ conceited _ do you have to be to think that I—”

“Oh, save it, Tony,” Stephen snaps, “how much of an idiot do you think I am? Did you think I didn’t notice how increasingly flustered you were around me? Or the fact that stared at me when you thought I wasn’t looking? I know you, Tony.”

Tony clenches his fists. “You don’t fucking _ know _ me.”

“I do, Tony, more than you think.” Stephen uncrosses his arms. “You crave attention but are terrified of intimacy. You have fling after fling, knowing that nothing will ever come out of it, because you’re too damn scared of potential consequences that could arise out of emotionally investing in someone. You tried your _ damn _ hardest. But you fell anyway.”

Tony feels tears welling up. “So, what, you knew I was falling for you and you still had the _ audacity _ to tell me it meant nothing? At the fucking coffee shop?”

Stephen shakes his head. “What was I supposed to say? ‘Hey, Tony, what if we actually go _ against _ what we told each other and started dating?’ How would you have reacted then? Probably the same damn way.”

“Why can’t you just leave me the hell alone?” Tony asks, turning around, rubbing at his face. “Why are you _ here?” _

“Maybe, just _ maybe, _ I feel the same way about you?” Stephen raises an eyebrow. “Someone tipped us off that you were here. I asked Pepper and Rhodey if I could talk to you _ alone.” _

“I’m not doing this,” Tony shakes his head.

“Fine. You’re going to throw away all we have and everything we could be because you’re _ scared?” _ Stephen’s face is red, his fists are clenched and he’s breathing heavily.

Tony spins around. “Don’t turn this into a fucking lecture. I’m a grown ass man, I can make my own choices.”

“Then _ grow up,” _ Stephen hisses, “real life sucks. You take risks knowing there could be a potential disaster. But there could be also something beautiful. Suppressing something simply because your scared that it could all end horribly will get you absolutely nowhere in life. Sure, we could date, and we could have the worst breakup imaginable. But you know what else? It could be the most blessed thing in the universe. That’s all apart of life. You either be together or you don’t.”

Tony doesn’t respond, instead averting his gaze and turning around, his back facing Stephen.

He hears Stephen sigh. “But if you don’t want to even give us a chance, then fine. I won’t cross your path again.” He sounds hurt, and a little bit broken, and Tony feels his gut wrenching. “At least turn your phone on. Let the people who love you know that you’re okay.”

Tony doesn’t have the heart to say anything. 

“If you change your mind,” Stephen says, but it’s softer. “You know where to find me. Goodbye, Tony.”

Tony hears the sound of grass crunching underneath feet, and he turns around a few moments later to stare at an empty space. He collapses on the bench, tears now falling down his cheeks. He grabs his phone from his pocket and turns it on, and an influx of missed calls, texts, and other things flood his phone. He chooses a name and calls it.

_ “Tony?!” _

“Pepper,” Tony chokes, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

_ “Where are you?” Pepper asks, a bit frantic. “I’m going to come get you. Rhodey had to leave to go somewhere else. Where’s Stephen? He told me he was coming to get you.” _

“I sent him away.” Tony replies, sniffling. “I’m a mess. I might have just fucked everything up. I’m—I’m coming home, I’ll be there soon.”

He hangs up the phone before Pepper can get another word, sticks it into his pocket, and begins walking, feeling the gentle breeze against his tear-stained cheeks.

* * *

When he gets back to his place, he collapses into Pepper’s arms, sobbing softly into her neck. She consoles him.

“I. I fucked up.”

“No,” Pepper shakes her head, “you didn’t.”

“I did. I pushed him away. He was right.”

“Stephen’s just as in love with you as you are with him,” Pepper says, combing her fingers through his hair. “He’s not giving up on you that easily. Especially when he knows you feel the same way.”

Tony pulls away, shaking his head. “He left. Told me if I changed my mind I know where to find him.”

“Well, have you?”

“I don’t know.” Tony admits, rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t know, Pep. You know how I am with this stuff. I don’t—I can’t—” he starts choking up on his words.

“Shh,” Pepper consoles him. “Tony, Stephen knows all of that. He’s just—feeling a lot right now. He’s hurt, too, because of how devastatingly in love he is with you. He explained everything to me, when we got tipped about your whereabouts. He’s willing to take it slow with you, to help you, to walk you through it.” She smiles, using her thumb to wipe a tear off of his face. “Moreso, he _ wants _ to. But you men always have trouble communicating your feelings, I swear.” 

Tony sighs. “How did I get myself into this?”

“Life comes at you fast,” Pepper explains, “it happens. I know you fear the vulnerability you’ll have if you be with Stephen. But everyone feels that, Tony. It’s all part of a new relationship. You aren’t alone in your feelings.”

“I don’t know…”

“Tony,” Pepper grabs his hand, squeezing it gently. “Do you remember when we went to that amusement park? How I told you I was scared of roller coasters? What did you do?”

Tony stares at her through his tear-stained eyes. “I told you that I would go on with you, and you could hold my hand as we did it together.”

“And we did.” Pepper smiles, her eyes glistening. “What’s my most favorite thing to ride now?”

“Roller coasters.”

“Exactly,” she says, “this is your roller coaster, Tony. And Stephen? He’s going to hold your hand. And you’re going to end up loving it. But you’ll never get there if you don’t even try.”  


Tony stares at her incredulously. She’s absolutely right.

He loves Stephen. Loves everything about him. From the way that he talks, to the way that he walks. He wants to kiss him. To hang out with him. To have sex with him. To date him.

To be with him.

“I need to go to him,” Tony announces after a brief moment of silence. “I need to go to him.”

Pepper grabs keys off the counter. “I’ll drop you off. Come on.”

* * *

The elevator is familiar. Tony takes deep breaths as it takes him up to Stephen’s floor. He doesn’t know exactly what he’s going to say. He’s just going to spill his heart out.

The doors ding open and he finds himself zooming down the hallway until he’s standing in front of Stephen’s door. He raises his fist and pauses.

_ No, _ Tony shakes his head. _ You gotta get on the roller coaster, Tony. _

He knocks, three times.

The door swings open. Stephen’s eyes soften immediately upon seeing him. He’s wearing a grey t-shirt and gym shorts—obviously pajamas. Tony breathes deeply, staring at him.

“I love you,” Tony swallows, narrowing his eyes in determination. “I love you. I want to be with you.”

“Took you a little while to say it out loud,” Stephen smiles, but it's gentle. 

“Well,” Tony clears his throat. “I guess it just adds to the anticipation.”

The noise Stephen lets out sounds something between a gasp and a sob, and suddenly two hands grab his face and pull him in for a passionate kiss. Tony’s hands find their way into Stephen’s hair, and he maneuvers them away from the door, kicking it closed. 

“I’m sorry,” Tony murmurs against his lips. “I wanna take that chance with you. I’m scared as hell, but I’m willing to go through this with you.”

Stephen presses a chaste kiss to the corner of his mouth. “I’ll hold your hand through this.” 

Tony pulls away and smiles. Stephen’s hands slide down to Tony’s tie, and he slowly starts undoing it.

“I love you too, you know.” Stephen whispers, removing the tie. “I never wanted to believe it because I knew the way you felt about relationships. But I had started getting my hopes up.” He lets out a soft chuckle. “I guess I was right in doing so.”

Tony unbuttons his shirt and pushes it off, placing a hand on the back of Stephen’s neck and pulling him in for a kiss. “You’ve always been different than my usuals. It should have been no surprise.”

Stephen doesn’t respond, instead guiding Tony to the bed.

It’s familiar, but new, at the same time, Tony finds. 

But this time, Stephen’s hands are threaded with Tony’s.

* * *

_ You can see someone midway through a party and say, “he’s hot, cute, etc.” And you can go home with him that night, have mind-blowing sex, and he lets you stay in the morning, maybe even makes you breakfast. And he can call you later and ask to see you again and you think your heart might leap out of your chest. But it’s not love. _

_ But, like a budding flower, it will eventually bloom. _

**Author's Note:**

> kudos and comments are so very appreciated! i really thrive off of comments and i love you all so much.
> 
> this work may have mistakes.
> 
> seriously tho. commenting makes my mf day ❤️🥰❤️🥰❤️❤️
> 
> \- leaf 🍃 
> 
> check me out on [twitter.](https://www.twitter.com/mcsams)  
check me out on [tumblr.](https://mculeaf.tumblr.com/)


End file.
